


Trial And Error

by badassjuggy



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Barchie is canon but I promise the story isn't shitty, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Ginger and Tina have like two lines in the show but they have big roles in the story, Jughead is going through changes like the kids in Big Mouth, Jughead is the narrator, Slow Burn, first person POV
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-18
Updated: 2018-07-03
Packaged: 2019-03-06 13:54:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 42,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13412688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/badassjuggy/pseuds/badassjuggy
Summary: After a long childhood of disappointment, heartbreak, loneliness and confusion, otherwise known as trial and error, this is the story, the miraculous story I still cannot wrap my head around, of how I ended up with Betty Cooper.





	1. Incident

Elizabeth Cooper.

To most, that name would sound like any other. It presumably belongs to a girl, but that’s about it. However, to me, it means so much more than that. Blonde hair. Green eyes. Sixteen, going on seventeen (right now, at least). Valedictorian. The most nurturing, genuine, altruistic girl you could possibly meet. She goes by Betty, not Elizabeth. And, I’m in love with her. 

I know exactly what you’re thinking; this guy is delusional! He’s, like, sixteen years old, how the hell could he be in love? He’s just a kid. Well, yes, and, yes. Maybe I am delusional, due to the fact that she has been dating my best friend for almost two years. And, maybe I am just a kid. But that doesn’t change the fact that I developed feelings for her long before I was even close to reaching manhood. 

It happened when the three of us - Archie, my best friend, Betty, and I - were all playing in Archie’s sandbox, the summer before I turned 7. Now, Archie wouldn’t turn 7 until later that August, but Betty was already 7 as of April, so, in a sense, she was a lot more mature than Archie and I. Anyway, we were all playing, getting dirty, and, all of a sudden, Archie and I grabbed the same Tonka truck, at the same time. We played a five second round of tug-of-war, which, of course, Archie won. Of course, I was sheepish. He had just taken the toy I wanted. Despite how clear it was that I was upset, Archie continued to taunt me, calling me a baby, a runt, the like - because I was so much younger than him… right? I’d almost started crying.

Of course, Betty, being the fearless, daring girl she was, she yanked the truck from Archie’s hands, hit him over the head with it, and, after he started crying, she said: “Don’t you ever treat Juggie like that again! If he is such a baby, why are you doing all the crying, huh?” Then, she handed the truck to me. I remember it like it was yesterday.  
Of course, years passed, we got older, we hit middle school… and, err, puberty. Elizabeth Cooper was becoming prettier by the day. She sure was growing… I mean, glowing. She was still best friends with Archie, but, unfortunately, they had drifted apart from me, ever since I moved out from across the street, and into Sunnyside Trailer Park on the other side of the tracks - all because my dad kept spending all our rent’s worth on booze. Eventually, halfway through the eighth grade, I found out that Archie and Betty started dating from one of Archie’s Instagram posts. 

Freshman year rolled in, and it was still the same old song and dance. Archie and I nodded to each other as we passed in the halls, but that was it. Betty still didn’t seem to know who I was anymore. However, I had never stopped admiring her. She didn’t change for anybody. She remained the sweet, nice Betty that I’d grown up with.   
Fast-forward to now; junior year. We’re two weeks in. Within that two weeks, Archie Andrews and I went from smalltalk to me sleeping on an air mattress and storing my clothes in the corner of his 10x12 bedroom. Now, the real reason behind this, was… In a nutshell, my dad was dangling off the wagon while I was in my sophomore year, but then, this past summer, he just, fell off. Completely. In a result, my mom grabbed Jellybean and took off to Toledo, leaving me high and dry, with nothing but unpaid bills, a near empty trailer fridge, and a drunk, lame excuse for a father. 

Archie didn’t have to ask me, he just, knew. That’s why we got along so well, back in the day - without even having a conversation with me, he would know my mood. Anyway, he and his dad welcomed me into the Andrews household with open arms. But, you see, here’s the exciting part: Betty Cooper still lives right next door. 

Now, it has only been a couple of days, so I haven’t seen any sign of her yet - probably because I’m always on my computer - but I know, for a fact, I will. The more I think about it, the more I apologize to God, for crushing on the girl who belongs to my self-proclaimed blood brother. 

“Jug!” 

“Yeah?” I looked up from my laptop screen for a brief second, then switched back to the tab where I was actually doing last-minute homework. 

“Have you seen my letterman jacket?!” Archie darted around his room, looking for his beloved jacket. Of course, like always, out of stress, he started to scold himself under his breath. It’s funny. He sounds like Dustin from Stranger Things. 

“Shit, shit, shit- dad asked you to take out the garbage, and feed Vegas, and you’re worried about a fucking jacket, and you still have to meet-” 

“I can take out the garbage,” I laughed. “And, even feed Vegas, if it spares you the ulcer.” 

The redhead looked at me, his eyes wide and full of gratitude. “Oh my God, you’re a lifesaver.”

“Least I can do, if you’re literally providing me a home, Arch.” I smiled at him and ran downstairs. I retrieved the trash bag from Fred, and went out the front door, towards the trash cans. 

“Jughead?” 

I flinched a bit at the sudden, yet sweet voice. It was Betty, notebooks in hand, blue bag slung on one shoulder, dressed in cute clothes… It took everything inside of me to not- nevermind. 

“Uh, hey, Betty. Good morning.” I smiled at her politely, putting the bag in the trash can. 

“What are you doing at Archie’s?” She furrowed her eyebrows. “I thought you liked sleeping in.” 

For a split second, I panicked. I forgot, she didn’t know I live here now. “Oh, uh, yeah. I do. Just… Archie needed some help. He’s a bit flustered.” 

“When is he not?” Betty chuckled. “Anyway, Archie was supposed to meet me out here five minutes ago.” 

“Oh, was he?” I blinked, looking over my shoulder. “Well, uh, he’s looking for his jacket… I’ll call for him, if you-” 

I was cut off by her gaze moving past my head, to the front door, a huge smile on her face. “Archie!” She ran past me, to Archie, and nearly jumped into his arms. I watched them, my stomach churning. They make me sick. What makes me even sicker is that Archie has no idea how lucky he is. 

“Sorry I was late,” He said, putting his arm around her. “Rough morning. Your bag, Jug?” He handed it to me. 

“Thanks.” I grinned, taking it from him. “Did you feed Vegas?” 

“Of course I di...” He went from looking unsure, back to his unintentional Dustin impression. “Shit! Shit! Shit…!” Betty laughed as he ran back inside. 

“He certainly overestimates his organization skills, huh?” Betty smiled, shaking her head. 

“Yeah.” I half-smiled. I almost said, he also overestimates his other skills like, being a good boyfriend, but, of course, I kept my mouth shut. 

 

 

Later that day, Archie, Betty, Kevin (another one of our best friends) and I all sat in a booth at Pop’s - the iconic, one-of-a-kind diner, which was everyone’s destination if they didn’t feel like cooking. Or, if they just wanted to hang out. 

“Betty, do you have any idea how to do that new sheet Dr. Phylum assigned to us today?” He asked. “I have no idea what it even means.” 

“Kevin, it’s simple balancing. We went over it all last week.” Betty rolled her eyes. 

“I don’t even remember what I ate for breakfast this morning!” Kevin sighed. 

“Kevin, Kevin.” Archie sat up. “You take the two metals, and depending how many charges it has, you-”

“Okay, I’m stopping you right there,” Betty laughed. “It’s a metal and a gas, Arch, it can’t be two metals. We haven’t even learned that yet.” 

I glanced up from my phone at Betty as she explained it to Archie. I couldn’t help but stare as she laughed. It was a beautiful sight. I bit my upper lip as I turned off my phone, and my eyes wandered around Pop’s. My eyes landed on the famous four - Cheryl Blossom, Riverdale’s resident it-girl, Veronica Lodge, Cheryl’s best friend (Cheryl’s little bitch works too), Tina Patel, the diva, and Ginger Lopez, the kind one - still a bitch, but she’s better than the other three combined.

“Problem, Jones?” Cheryl boldly popped her head out from the booth and asked. 

I raised an eyebrow at her as Veronica turned around, too.

“Hey, Wednesday Addams, how’s your dad?” The raven haired girl spat. The other three girls burst into a fit of laughter, and my stomach sank. I stared out the window. Suddenly, all I wanted was to leave.

“Did she just…?” Kevin tilted his head at her, and glared.

“Veronica, stop.” Archie said, a bit calmly.

“Archie, stop. It’s fine. Leave it.”

“What’s going on?” Betty furrowed her eyebrows. 

Unfortunately, I didn’t have the guts to tell her not to worry about it, so, before I could change my mind, I got up and left. I didn’t want her to see how weak I was. I couldn’t let her. As I walked past Cheryl’s table, they all stared up at me and giggled. Archie tried calling for me, but I ignored him. I stuffed my hands in my pockets, swallowed the lump in my throat, and just... kept walking. I don’t think I’d ever walked so fast. 

Eventually, I got where I wanted to be. I slowly walked up the run-down wood stairs, and gulped as I twisted the doorknob. Before I knew it, I was back inside my dad’s trailer. I glanced around, and I wanted to cry at the mess it had become. All my latest childhood memories, like family game night, since we couldn’t afford cable all the time, Jellybean and I sitting on the floor to eat our thanksgiving dinners so our parents could sit comfortably on real furniture… I tried not to think about the bad memories, but, the more I try not to think about them, the more they flood back into my brain. A tsunami of confusion, and unanswered questions. Me trying to get Jellybean to sleep while our parents fought in the living room. Empty bottles thrown at the walls; all the dents were still there. Every dent that existed, symbolized the dents in my heart, and surely Jellybean’s. 

“Who’s there?!”

The booming voice almost made me jump out of my skin. I stood there vulnerably as my dad ran into the room, a baseball bat in hand. I glared at him. 

“Jughead.”

“Dad.”

He sighed, and took a beer out of the fridge. I frowned at him. He relies on alcohol to help him get over everything; even something as simple as thinking your home was being broken into, and then realizing it was your son. “How you doing?”

“I’m…” I shrugged. 

“Understandable. Me too.” He took a long sip of beer. “Where you living nowadays?” 

“Archie’s.”

“With Freddie Andrews, huh?” He chuckled. “I see.”

“Right, because living here is so much better.” I rolled my eyes.

He slammed his beer on the counter, and came out from the tiny kitchen in the trailer. “Why did you come here, son? To criticize me even more than you and your mother already have?”

“No.” I shook my head, and silently gagged at the stench of old beer in his breath. “I came by to ask… Why does everybody in this town seem to know about our family’s situation?”

“Why would you ask that?”

“Because, I was at Pop’s tonight, and Veronica Lodge made a comment. About you.”

My father laughed. “The entitled ice-princess? Hiram and Hermione's kid? Oh my God, Jug, don’t tell me you took it to heart.”

“Dad, I’m serious!” I stepped closer to him. “How does she know?!”

“To be honest, Jug? I couldn’t say for sure.” He huffed. “Probably something to do with her daddy. He knows everything. Him and his wife are the bedrock of Riverdale. But, one word of advice; if they ever ask you again, don’t show remorse. Show strength, or nothing at all. Either laugh with them, laugh at them, or don’t laugh at all. It won’t draw everyone’s attention to the big question; ‘What is wrong with Jughead’s father?’. You understand?”

I nodded slowly. “Thanks...”

He grinned at me, and put his hand on my shoulder. “I miss you, bud. Come by more often, okay?”

I smiled back sadly. “I’ll do my best.” With that, I left the trailer, and began my walk back to Archie’s house. The whole way, I thought about the advice my father gave me; Either laugh with them, laugh at them, or don’t laugh at all. Now, first off, laughing with them would be just plain stupid.

‘Hey Jughead, your father is a deadbeat alcoholic!’

‘Ha-ha, fuck yeah he is!’

Laughing at them would be technically the same thing, so, those two options are completely out of the question. Now, ignoring them…? I mean, it’s something to consider. But, how can I do that when I have the woman of my dreams staring at me with her curious, green eyes and asking what’s wrong with such vast concern? It’s much easier said than done, but… I mean, it’s the best I can do. 

Once I finally got to Archie’s, it was about 10, so, I came in slowly, and quietly, just incase he was asleep. But, I figured that was far from true when Archie practically lunged down the stairs the moment I walked in the door. 

“Dude, where have you been? I’ve been calling you,” He snapped frantically. 

“Uh, I just went for a walk. Calm down…” I took my shoes off. 

“Where?” Archie challenged.

“... Sunnyside.”

“You went to your dad’s? And you didn’t tell me? Jug, what the hell-” 

“I don’t need your permission, Archie...” I pushed past him, and went upstairs to his room. 

“No, you don’t.” He followed me. “But, you do need to tell me where you’re going, so I can tell my dad, and we know you’re safe.” 

“Arch.” I snorted. “I wasn’t doing anything sketchy. I went to see my dad, because I wanted to know why, Veronica Lodge, of all people, knew about him.” 

He sighed, and shut the door behind him. “Well, I have no idea. But, that’s besides the point.”

“Oh my God, can you quit it?” I scoffed. “Isn’t it clear that I fucking understand you?”

“Not really! You keep snorting, scoffing, dismissing everything I say-”

“You know, dare I say it,” I interrupted, “I’m surprised Betty can tolerate you sometimes. The way you try to run everything. The way you always try to be in charge, no matter what.”

He stared at me in anger for a second, then furiously reached for the doorknob.

“Where are you going?” I asked.

“To the living room to set up the pullout couch, because there’s no way I’m sleeping in the same room as you tonight.” He slammed the door behind him, and I just stood there, bewildered. I wondered why he was so mad; I was right, but, he seemed to suddenly lose it when I talked about Betty. I didn’t really understand. I mindlessly glanced out the window, then, surprisingly saw her staring out her window, into Archie’s, at me. I stared back. She picked up a piece of paper and a Sharpie from her desk, and started writing something on it. After she was done, she held it up. 

'Everything okay?'

What was this, a remaster of Taylor Swift’s ‘You Belong With Me’?

I smiled softly at her. I found a pile of paper on Archie’s desk, and wrote my response on it, deciding to give into this straight-out-of-a-chick-flick interaction. 

'Archie’s pissed at me, it’s a long story,' my sign read. 

She nodded understandingly, but, still looked confused. She started writing again. 

'I mean about earlier. Are you okay?'

I must have reread it over a thousand times in that moment. Betty is actually concerned for my wellbeing? Flattering, no doubt, but… abnormal. She has hardly paid any mind to me before this. 

'I’m fine. Riverdale’s resident Regina George doesn’t scare me.'

Betty broke out into laughter. My heart swelled. Not only was my secret inner hormonal teenage boy self gushing, because I made her laugh (step one), but I was taken aback by how beautiful she was when she laughed. The way her eyes crinkled at the sides. Her straight, bright, white smile. Just her happiness, in general.

My happiness was interrupted when I heard Archie storming down the hall. I scrambled to crumple the paper and throw it all in the garbage, and, when he barged inside, I saw Betty in the corner of my eye rushing to her bed, where Archie couldn’t see her. I grimaced. The one time of the day where I’m truly happy, and he just goes and ruins it. 

“Okay, your bed is ready. Go downstairs, you fuck.”


	2. Detention

I woke the next morning to the front door slamming shut, indicating Archie had left early. Fred said he had football practice, since Coach Clayton had a doctor’s appointment after school, but I knew in the back of my head that he just didn’t want to walk to school with me. That’s one of the things I hate the most about Archie - he deals with his problems via silence treatments and shade-throwing. However, on the bright side, he only takes a day or so to come around, so I should be good by the evening. 

I went into Archie’s room, and knelt down next to the desk where my clothes were. Once I’d gotten my bottom half dressed, before putting my shirt on, I stood up and reached for my deodorant that sat on the desk. In the corner of my eye, I saw a movement, so, out of curiosity, I looked up; I really wish I didn’t. Lo and behold, Betty Cooper, in nothing but her bra and underwear. 

I had never moved so fast; I pressed my back against the wall next to the window, and cursed under my breath. It had happened so fast, but, let me tell you, I had seen more than enough. Her perfectly sized breasts, her slim figure with small curves in just the right places, the edges of her butt… I had no choice but to look again.

Ever so slowly, I gulped, and looked through the tiny slit on the side of the curtain, and, there she was again. She was standing in the mirror, looking at herself with utter uncertainty. My heart pounded in my chest. How I wished I could snake my arms around her from behind, and reassure her that she’s the most beautiful person on this damn planet, then make passionate love to her, right on that pale pink fucking vanity… wait, what was I saying?

I shook my head and pulled my gaze away from her, and attempted to continue getting ready. I grabbed my deodorant and put it under my arms. Then, I put it down, and, boom; it caught my eye. The raging erection I had in my pants. I let out a loud, frustrated groan. “Are you fucking kidding me?” I bit my lip, whimpering as I hung my head back. I looked at the time; seven forty. I didn’t really have time to deal with my issue, since I still had to walk to school, but… I also didn’t really have a choice. I hastily walked to the bathroom, regretting even giving into my desire to look at her in the first place.

 

“Today, we’ll be reviewing over the basics of-” I heard Dr. Phylum begin, then stop himself when I bashfully walked into the classroom, late for first period. Everyone’s eyes, including Archie and Betty’s, went to me. “Jughead, glad you decided to join us. Why are you late?”

Sorry, I was masturbating to Betty Cooper’s half-naked body.

“I, erm… overslept?” I mumbled, taking my assigned seat next to Kevin.

Dr. Phylum rolled his eyes, and continued on what he was saying. Kevin looked at me weirdly. “Overslept?”

“Okay, I lied, I had a personal issue, but it’s not to be discussed. Please,” I whispered back.

“Jones! You will not show up late to my class, then proceed to mingle with your peers while I’m talking! Detention!” 

I glared at him, then shut my eyes. Detention? What is this, the 90s? The class waited until Dr. Phylum was done giving his lecture, then got to work on the sheet that he handed out. Kevin called Archie and Betty over to work with us, and my heart raced as they came over. I couldn’t bear sitting at the same table as Betty, for obvious reasons, and Archie, again, for obvious reasons.

“Overslept, Jughead? Really?” Archie grumbled. 

“Mhm.” I didn’t look up as I wrote my name at the top of the worksheet.

“You never oversleep.”

“Well, I did today.” I paused. “I didn’t get a very good sleep last night.” I gave Archie a stare, and he stared back.

“Arch, what’d you do?” Betty asked him.

“No, Betty, it’s what he did.” 

“Archie, leave it.” My heart dropped; I didn’t know if what I said would offend Betty or not. 

“Okay, if we continue to talk this loudly, we’ll all have detention,” Kevin interjected. “So, Archie and Jughead, postpone your catfight until after school.”

I tensed my jawline and swallowed my anger, turning my focus to the worksheet in front of me. I understood what I said may have been wrong, but I still don’t see why it’s necessary to drag the problem on for so long. I mean, as harsh as it may have seemed to Archie, I was right…

I glanced up at Betty for a moment. She was on her phone, and she seemed very stressed; she was hastily typing something on her phone and tightening her jaw as she did so. Her face had a mixture of confusion and, maybe anger…?

“Betty!”

She flinched, and looked over her shoulder at Dr. Phylum, knowing exactly what she was being called out for.

“Are you texting in my class?” He crossed his arms.

“I- yes, I’m sorry, Dr. Phylum, I, uh, have… an emergency?” She stammered.

“Well, next time, let me know. In the meantime, you can spend a bit of time with Jughead after school, because you also have detention.” 

Her mouth hung open. “B-but I have Vixen practice after school!”

“I’m sure Cheryl will let it slide,” He mumbled, shuffling through his papers.

Regardless of how regretful and ashamed Betty looked, my insides were erupting in excitement. Betty and I in a room with nobody but the very few Riverdale High misfits? It was like a dream come true! Besides the fact that she gave me a boner this morning, of course, I was thrilled. 

“I can’t believe this. I’ve never had detention before, in my life,” She confessed quietly. I rested my face on my hand to cover the smirk I had.

“You’ll be fine, Betty. Just go to the bathroom before, and make sure you do everything they say. And, don’t complain,” Kevin said. Betty gave him a funny look. “Remember sophomore year when I rebelled? You don’t recall me having a detention, like, four days a week?”

“Right, yeah.” She chuckled, but quickly started sulking again. “Gosh, I don’t wanna go…”

“It’s fine. You’ll be with Jughead,” Archie assured her. “He’ll treat you just fine,” He added in a very low whisper. I sighed. 

 

I sat in one of the history rooms, where detention was taking place. Weirdly enough, Betty, who was early to everything, wasn’t there yet. Finally, at 3:03, she walked in the door, and avoided eye contact with Mrs. Stevens, who was supervising. She looked at Betty, puzzled as to why she was here, but, within just a couple seconds, dismissed it, and went back to marking papers. 

“Can I sit?” She gestured to the chair next to me. 

“If you want.” I twiddled with my thumbs as she took a seat. 

“So, out of curiosity…” Betty put her bag down. “What exactly happened between you and Archie?”

I glanced at her. “Uh… It’s kind of a personal thing. Sorry.”

“Oh, no problem. You guys just seem really mad at each other.”

“Honestly?” I smiled slightly. “I’m not mad at him at all. And, for the record, he’s far more mad than he should be.”

Betty rolled her emerald eyes. “That sounds like Archie. He overreacts about the dumbest stuff. I love him and everything, but…”

I love him. Hearing those three words stung my heart so badly, the pain was unexplainable. 

“Me too,” I chimed, trying to hide my sadness. “He’s a brother to me. We fight like brothers. But, we also have such a brotherly bond, you know?”

“He always spoke very highly of you, when it was just… Archie and I.” Betty gulped in slight shame. “In middle school, and such. Him and I always talked about our childhood memories with you.”

“Okay, now you’re just getting sentimental,” I said with a sarcastic grin. Both of us laughed. “I agree, though. We did have some good memories.”

“Remember when you taught me how to ride a bike?” Betty giggled. 

“How could I forget? You begged me to stop supporting you, so I let you go, and then you knocked out a tooth within, like, 2 seconds.” 

She covered her face in embarrassment. “Oh, my God, there was blood all over the street. I remember that!”

We burst into a fit of hysterics. “It was like a fucking crime scene,” I said through my laughter. We laughed even harder. 

“Hey, pipe down back there!” Mrs. Stevens said. “Or, you’ll be kicked out, and in detention for the rest of the week!”

“Sorry, sorry,” I said, getting my last few chuckles out. “Do you remember how mad Archie was?”

“Was he mad…?” She looked up at the ceiling, trying to recall.

I nodded. “He wanted to learn before you. You know how he was.”

“Oh, right,” She nodded. “Superior of us, just like he is now…” She whispered the last part.

“What?” I furrowed my eyebrows.

“Nothing!” Betty smiled. She was clearly lying, but, I decided to let it go… for now.

“Cooper, Jones, you have one more chance, and you can’t say I never warned you!” Mrs. Stevens said sternly. “Stop talking!”

Betty leaned her head back, closed her eyes, and sighed. “I hate detention.” 

“Me too, but, at least I have time to think about what I’ll say to Archie,” I shrugged. “Whatever I did or didn’t do wrong, I still have to at least give a seemingly genuine apology to him, regardless. It’s the only way he’ll stop giving me this negative attention, like what you saw in science today.” 

“I hear ya.” She nodded. 

“So, do you, like, have any work to do?” I asked, to keep the conversation going.

“Yeah, I have an English assignment. But, I think I’ll just wait until I get home to do it. Doing homework in detention seems weird to me,” She said. “Plus, my mom won’t be as mad at me for getting detention if I’m doing homework, and maintaining my position as the perfect daughter she always imagined.”

“I had that science sheet from earlier, but talking to you is way more entertaining,” I admitted. “I’d rather put it aside for now, so I can avoid war flashbacks to Archie grilling me this morning.”

Betty laughed loudly, then covered her mouth, realizing what she did. Mrs. Stevens threw her arms up in frustration. “That’s it! Take the rest of the day off, you two, you’re distracting me from grading my papers, and everyone else from thinking about what they’ve done!”

Red as beets, and still giggling, we gathered our things, filed out of the room, and made our way to the front doors. “Holy shit, I can’t believe I just got kicked out of detention. My mom is gonna put me on Maury at this point.”

“Her quote for the headline would be, ‘My teenage daughter is out of control! She got kicked out of detention, and I think she may be doing heroin!’” We threw our heads back in laughter, and continued to do so as we walked out of the double doors, and in the direction of her and Archie’s street.

“Hey, isn’t Sunnyside that way?” Betty pointed behind us.

“Oh… yeah,” I nodded. “I want to talk to Archie though. Fix this mess with him. I’ll walk you home.”

“Okay, no problem!” She smiled, and we continued on our way. “Juggie, why did we lose touch?”

“I guess it’s because I moved away?” I said, my stomach fluttering at her using my old nickname she had for me when we were kids. 

“We still went to the same school, though,” She mumbled. “It was so weird, seeing you in the hall every day, and not being able to say hi to you.”

“Why’s that?” I stared at her in shock. 

“You seemed to hate us, to be honest. Archie and I.” Betty looked at the ground. “I really thought you did.”

“I could never hate you, Betty.” I looked at her genuinely. “And, as much as a pain in the ass Archie can be, I could never hate him, either.”

“That’s comforting.” She giggled.

“But, in a way, I did kind of try to distance myself from everyone in middle school,” I admitted. “Same with freshman and most of sophomore year. I was going through a lot of shit with my family, which is a long story, but I didn’t want to feel like I had to tell anybody. My problems were just… for me to worry about. So, I just kept my head down, got through it… But, even if I wanted to make friends without coming crawling back to you and Arch, I didn’t fit in. I didn’t want to fit in.”

“As much as I can’t relate, I do understand.” Betty sighed. “I kind of knew what your family was undergoing, though. I mean, some of it, at least...”

We were quiet for a second, remembering the day my family got evicted from the street Archie, Betty and I all lived on together.

“That was one of the darkest days of my life.” I chuckled sadly. “I remember it like it was yesterday.”

“I do, too. I was so lonely after that, Jughead. I didn’t have a shoulder to cry on if Archie was ever… acting up.”

“I didn’t have a shoulder to cry on if my family was…” I trailed off. “Instead, I was my sister’s shoulder to cry on, because I had to say strong. For her, for my mom.”

“That’s a lot of pressure,” Betty sympathized. “How are they now?”

My heart ached, as I thought about the fact that they were in Toledo, Ohio, and I haven’t spoken to them since last month. “They’re okay,” I lied. 

“How old is Jellybean now?”

“Ten,” I told her. “She’s a little punk. She listens to Pink Floyd on vinyl and wants to go as J.B now, ‘cause she thinks it sounds cooler.”

Betty cracked a smile. “Last time I saw her, she was like… I don’t know, four? Five? She was tiny.”

I smiled, thinking about Jellybean. “How’s Polly?”

The beam on Betty’s face slowly faded away. “She, uh… Hasn’t been around lately.”

I instantly felt bad. “Oh, Betty, she isn’t-”

“No, no,” She shook her head. “She’s fine. She’s just, away.”

“Where?”

Betty looked down. “The Sisters of Quiet Mercy,” She mumbled. “My parents say her and Jason got in a fight, and she was pretty devastated, and had a severe mental breakdown. The day she left, I witnessed everything happen from Archie’s window. She was being wrangled by these men, and got shoved into a van. I ran outside, but, it was too late. She was already halfway down the street. I didn’t even get to say goodbye.”

I stopped her, and put a hand on her shoulder. “Betty, I am so sorry I asked. That’s terrible.”

“Thanks. Everything’s fine.” She shrugged a shoulder, and gestured for us to keep walking. “I’m just frustrated, because my mom and dad won’t let me see her. They made it so only they could see her.” 

“Why won’t they let you?” I furrowed my eyebrows at her.

“I don’t know. They keep telling me Polly doesn’t want to see me, but, I know that’s a lie. Polly and I have the healthiest relationship anyone could imagine. We rarely fight,” Betty explained. “But, when we do, it never takes long for us to forgive each other. Most of the time, we don’t even have to forgive each other.”

“I wish I could help, Betty.” I sighed. “I’m sorry. I really am.”

“That’s sweet of you, Jug, but…” We turned onto the street where her house was. “If I can’t do anything, neither can anyone.”

“I just can’t imagine the frustration.” I shook my head. “You’re a tough one.”

She gave me a soft smile, then stopped in her tracks when we ended up in front of Archie’s. “Good luck on making amends,” She said. 

“Good luck on Alice grilling you for the answer as to why you got detention.”

Betty covered her face, and laughed. “I forgot, oh my gosh…”

I chuckled at how adorable she looked, and, feeling a sudden boost of confidence, gave her a playful pat on the shoulder. “See you tomorrow.”

“Bye!”

The minute I walked in the door, I couldn’t stop smiling. I’d just had the most heartfelt conversation with the one and only Betty Cooper. She’d laughed at my jokes, and made jokes back. We chatted about personal things. Things I never thought we would talk about. Needless to say, I felt extremely happy. 

I went upstairs, to find Archie laying in bed, shirtless. He’d jumped a bit when I walked in, so something told me he was taking pictures, but I didn’t say anything. 

“You’re home early,” He noticed out loud. 

“Yeah… we got kicked out of detention.” I bit my lip.

“Seriously?” He rolled his eyes, and gave an amused chuckle. “Oh, Jug.”

“Hey, it was Betty, too. We were laughing too loud.”

“Yeah?” Archie looked up from his phone. “What were you guys laughing about?”

I shrugged, kneeling down to get comfier clothes from my bag. “You, our childhood, homework, war flashbacks, Maury…” I snickered, remembering the jokes we made. 

“Fun.” Archie breathed out a laugh, then looked back at his phone. 

“Look, Arch,” I began. “I’m sorry for saying what I said to you last night. It was uncalled for.”

“It’s okay, Jughead. I’m over it now.” He looked over at me. “I overreacted. In fact, you were kind of right. I’m surprised Betty can tolerate me sometimes.”

“No comment.” I grinned, changing into a different shirt. 

“Boys! Dinner!” Fred called from downstairs. 

“I’ll meet you down there, I just wanna finish changing,” I told Archie. He nodded, and walked out of his door. I couldn’t have been more glad that he didn’t suspect anything about Betty and I, because I was more than happy to be interacting with her that way. Not that I was trying to steal her, because that’s completely obliterating a line, but… I’m just, glad.  
In the middle of changing my clothes, I heard a yell and the loud slam of a door. It couldn’t have happened in Archie’s house, because, none of us were mad, and it sounded too quiet. The first concern I felt was Betty. I stood up, and peeked out of the curtains, to see her pressing her back against the door, and crying violently. My heart ached greatly as she slid down the door, and continued sobbing to herself. I wanted nothing more than to comfort her and reassure her that everything would be okay. It took everything inside me to not hold up a piece of paper, asking her what was wrong, because then she would know I was watching her. 

And, besides, on the first floor of the Andrews household, awaited Archie, and she loved him. Not me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> follow my twitter! @badassjuggy


	3. Deceit

The next morning, in my very first waking moment, I was naturally worried for Betty. She looked insanely upset last night, and it had to be because of her mom. Surely she said something terrible to Betty. After growing up around her family, I definitely knew. What if she did something she regretted? God forbid, but it was still possible. I sat up, prayed she was clothed, and opened the curtains. My breathing slowed down when I saw her applying makeup. She was alright. 

That entire morning, Archie was weirdly quiet. He didn’t talk about Betty at all - which he normally does, he was very standoffish, and he barely touched his breakfast. His eyebrows were constantly knitted together, in deep thought. I would ignore it, of course, it just, really intrigued me. We hardly even talked, the entire way to school. When she said ‘hi’ to us in the morning, he looked at her with so much… I don’t know, regret? I just assumed it was probably because he thought about what I said, about being surprised she was able to tolerate him. It was very strange, though, because he hardly ever dwells on things like that for more than a day. 

Betty and Kevin even noticed, too. Later that day, at lunch, while Archie was talking to Reggie about something football related, we discussed it. 

“Is it just me, or is Archie acting like… I don’t know, The Tell-Tale Heart caretaker?” Kevin said, eyeing him from across the cafeteria. 

“Right?!” Betty shook her head, sighing. “He’s been acting weird all day long. I don’t know what’s going on. Jug, was he weird last night at all when you saw him?”

I shrugged. “Not that I remember.”

While Kevin and Betty talked about it some more, I looked at Archie, who was laughing with all his football friends. Ginger, Tina, Cheryl and Veronica were sitting at the table, too, and he was talking to them. And, even as far away as I was, I could see Veronica staring at Archie, ever-so wistfully, and, even though he wasn’t looking back at her at the time, something still clicked in my brain. Knowing Veronica Lodge, she would definitely try to snatch him away from Betty by his head of ginger hair. I knew I should have, but, I didn’t speak or think anything of it at the time. She was just, at the table, right? It was nothing. Betty and Archie had been together for a really long time. Him talking to another girl meant nothing.

“Jughead.”

I snapped out of my thoughts. “Uh, yeah?”

Betty looked at me. “I said, are you coming to the pep rally tonight?”

Pep rally? Me? Come on.

“I wouldn’t miss it,” I told her, with a soft smile. 

“Good.” She nodded. “It’s at 7:00, and, there’s supposed to be a downpour tonight, so bring your poncho, and an umbrella, okay, guys?”

“Poncho? What are we, middle schoolers?” Kevin raised an eyebrow.

Betty rolled her eyes. “Poncho, jacket, or nothing, whatever helps you sleep at night. Just don’t come crying to me when the rain soaks through your “cool” jacket and your phone speakers stop working.” 

“Noted,” He said with a cynical smile. “Why do you seem so concerned about it, though?”

“The Bulldogs are versing the Baxter High Ravens next week, and, tonight is just, the town showing our support for them! I know this is really important to Archie, and I want him to feel like he has a lot of people backing him up, backing his team up…” Betty shrugged. “Plus, the Vixens are performing, and we have some pretty killer choreography.” She winked at Kevin. 

“Well, in that case, I can’t wait,” Kevin said with a smirk. 

Me neither, I thought. 

Archie had eventually come back to our table, and took a seat next to Betty. She gave him a kiss on the cheek, and he responded with a smile. In that very moment, I knew something was up. I’ve known Archie since we were in diapers, and, that being said, I always know when he’s lying. And, that smile, it was definitely a lie. 

 

 

Later, the time had finally come, and I found myself sat on the bleachers with Kevin. He insisted that we sit close as possible to where the Vixens were performing, because he wanted to see the “killer” dance moves Betty promised him, and I had agreed, but, not too much, of course. Even if I’m more than easy going with that kind of stuff, I can’t make it too obvious that I am.

“Betty sent me a little teaser of their choreography after school today,” Kevin mentioned. “I’m, like, ten times more excited. It’s amazing.”

“No comment.” I laughed. “I mean, I could say something, but it would just sound creepy, ‘cause I’m not a homosexual. No offence.”

“None taken. I get it, trust me.” Kevin smiled. “If it makes you feel any better, Veronica slipped and fell mid-vid.”

I looked at him, surprised. “No shit?”

He nodded, chuckling, and, suddenly, Principal Weatherbee started testing the microphone, and handed it to Mayor McCoy once he knew it was good. “I’ll show you later,” Kevin whispered.

“Good evening, students of Riverdale High!” Mayor McCoy gave a very phony looking beam to the crowd in front of her, and they cheered back. “It makes me so ecstatic to see the town weathering this horrid storm, just to support our school community!”

It was literally moderate rain, Sierra, but… go off, I guess.

“From the bottom of my heart, I wish the Riverdale Bulldogs the absolute best of luck, on winning that second place!” More applause sounded. “Without further ado, I’ll introduce, performing my daughter Josie’s choreography… our very own River Vixens!”

I bit my lip as the girls filed out from the pathway between the bleachers, waved at the crowd with their pom poms, and assembled in front of us. I spotted Betty almost immediately, and tried my best not to let my smile grow. Within a few seconds, an R&B song started playing - the bass turned up very high - and the girls began dancing. I kept my eyes on Betty, and watched her carefully as she moved her body, and her legs, so gracefully, yet in such a sexy manner. She did everything beyond what I’d imagined; dropping to the floor and picking it back up, touching her toes and feeling up her legs, moving her hips, running her hands down her soaking wet body, the rain beading and dripping down her face and legs… I never thought someone could turn me on so much. All I wanted to do was walk up to her and tell her how amazing of a job she did, how beautiful she looked, kiss her, then whisper in her ear the extended version of what I really felt… That I wanted to bring her home, rip that uniform off, make her feel unspeakably good, and let her fall asleep in my arms. 

Once they had finished their routine, I heard Kevin clapping and expressing his pride, and I felt an inclination to do so as well, but it didn’t overrule what I continued to think. I hardly even paid attention to Archie when he ran out into the field with the football team. All I could focus on was Betty. When the Bulldogs were done riling up the crowd, Archie and Betty did exactly what I hated more than anything; she jumped into his arms and gave him a long, deep kiss, and the audience went insane. Everybody except me. All I felt was emptiness, and, potentially, another fucking boner. 

After the audience calmed down, Kevin sat back down next to me, and put his hand on my arm. “You good?”

“Oh, uh, yeah...” I smiled. “Betty wasn’t lying, was she?”

“Nope!” Kevin laughed in delight, then gave me a bit of a look. “Do you have your eye on anybody in particular?”

I squinted my eyes at him, and chuckled. “Me? Think about what you’re asking, and who you’re asking.” 

“I am.” He raised his eyebrows at me, and rested his chin on his hand. “Tell me, Jughead. Which Vixen is the apple of your eye? My lips are sealed.”

I rolled my eyes. “You don’t have to seal your lips, ‘cause I don’t have my eyes on anyone, Kev.”

“I don’t believe you.” 

“Then don’t.” I grinned. “What about you? Do you have your eye on a certain football play-”

“No!” Kevin was quick to defend himself, and his eyes widened like saucers. 

“Okay, at least I’m a good liar.” I laughed out loud. 

“That’s not true. You just admitted you were lying.” Kevin smirked. 

“Shit.” I covered my face. “Well, you’ll never find out. That’s all I can guarantee.”

“Neither will you.” 

Once the pep rally was officially over, and everyone was socializing in the field, Kevin and I decided to go say ‘hello’ to everybody, congratulate them and whatnot. We eventually found Archie in the crowd of blue and yellow. 

“Your girl looked pretty good out there, didn’t she?” Kevin teased. 

Archie nodded. “Yeah, she did.” 

Oh, stop it. 

While Kevin and Archie were talking, I looked over to the crowd of Vixens. Betty was making small conversation with Ginger Lopez, and I furrowed my eyebrows. Betty and Ginger don’t like each other, because Ginger is friends with the resident dragonesses of Riverdale, and, she’s just stuck up, in general. Betty doesn’t enjoy the company of people like that. Why would she be talking to someone like Ginger?

“Jughead.”

I snapped out of my thoughts, and turned to Kevin. “Uh, yeah?”

Archie rolled his eyes. “I said, do you wanna go to Pop’s? The four of us?”  
I glanced at Betty and Ginger again. “Yeah, sounds good. I’m starving. Do you want me to go and ask Betty?”

Kevin looked at me questioningly. “Go ahead,” he said with a smirk. 

I raised an eyebrow at him, and walked off in Betty’s direction. “Hey, Betty.” I said once I was standing before them. “Ginger.” I nodded towards her. 

“Oh, hey, Jughead.” Betty smiled. “Did you, uh, enjoy yourself?”

“Y-yeah, I…” I laughed nervously. “Um, do you wanna come to Pop’s with Arch, Kevin and I?” 

“That sounds great, I’m famished,” she said. “Just give me, like, 10 minutes to change, and I’ll meet you at the front of the school?”

“Yeah, Archie has to change too, anyway. We’ll be waiting.” I nodded. 

“Oh, Betty!” Ginger said, her voice full of sarcastic energy. “I was just on my way to the frigidarium. I’ll accompany you.”

Betty stared at her. “Okay... “ Ginger held out her bent arm, and linked it with Betty’s. “I’ll see you, Jug?”

“Yeah.” I dumbfoundedly watched them walk away, then went back to Archie and Kevin.

Ginger was being weirdly friendly towards her… like, too friendly. And, she was definitely saying something to Betty in an attempt to bother her, or make her feel… I don’t know, scared? On edge?

“Hey,” Kevin said once I got back to him. “Archie went to go change. We’ll meet everyone at the front.”

“Perfect.” I forced a smile, and we started walking towards the front. 

“So,” He said with amusement in his voice. “I told you I’d find out eventually. Even if five minutes is all it took.”

“Huh?” 

“Ginger.”

Oh, fuck.

“Seriously, Kevin?” I scoffed. 

“I saw the way you looked at her. And, during that cheer routine? It’s like you were fucking hypnotized or something. I don’t blame you. She’s a dime and a half.” He stared at me, wiggling his eyebrows. 

I was looking at Betty with the love in my eyes I usually look at her with, and he thought I was looking at Ginger. This is just great. 

“Okay, I swear, I don’t have my eye on her. How could I? Yeah, she’s pretty, whatever, but her and I are the polar fucking opposite.” 

“Opposites attract…” He dragged it out with a coy smile. “Jughead Jones likes a girl. I never thought I’d live to see the day.”

“Okay, you win. I don’t like her, but, whatever helps you sleep at night, I guess.” 

“It shall, Jones.”

 

 

“... And, that thing you did with your hips? At the end?” Kevin expressed his pride in the Vixen’s performance, as he’d been doing for the entire twenty minutes we’d been at Pop’s so far, and I had done nothing but repeatedly pray he would shut up any time soon. 

“That took a lot of practice to nail,” said Betty, after a long sip of her milkshake. 

“You did great, all of you,” said Archie, kissing her on the cheek. I just sat and stared out the window, and focused on nothing but the drops of rain running down the glass, and finishing my second burger of the night. I was stress eating, and it was all because of Kevin, thinking I liked Ginger, and not even suspecting I liked - sorry, loved - Betty. 

“Can I take your plate, Jug?” Pop Tate asked, holding his hand out to me. 

“Yeah, that’d be great,” I nodded. “Another one, please.” Lacking surprise, Pop nodded his head, and went to the kitchen. 

“Oh my God, Jughead, that’s your third fucking burger of the night. Are you crazy?” Archie laughed. 

“Yeah, crazy in love,” Kevin whispered, intentionally loud enough for Archie and Betty to hear. 

“Pardon?” Betty coughed.

“Really?!” I rolled my eyes. “Not cool.”

“Sorry, I couldn’t help it. Had to.” Kevin nonchalantly sipped his milkshake.

“What do you mean, crazy in love?” Archie leaned across the table. “Do we need to go outside?”

“No, because it’s not true,” I said through gritted teeth, eyeing at Kevin. 

“Okay, okay, I’ll guess…” Betty giggled. “Is it a Vixen?” She paused, then her face fell. “... A Bulldog?”

My eyes widened. “What- no!”

“Okay, sorry, sorry…” She laughed. “Let me think… Veronica Lodge?”

“I’d rather gouge my eyes out,” I said almost immediately. Archie sunk in his seat, and I looked over at him. 

“Midge Klump?”

“She’s dating Moose. And, no.”

“Cheryl Blossom?”

“Are Louis Vuitton neverfulls and secondhand Old Navy flannels really a good match at all?”

“Tina Patel?”

“Too small-dogs-in-designer-purses, if you know what I mean.”

“Getting warmer…” Kevin whispered.

Betty perked up at his comment. “Ginger Lopez?”

“Believe it or not, Kevin, no.” 

“Oh. My. God.” Betty’s jaw fell open. “You have a crush on Ginger Lopez? No way.”

“Yeah, exactly. No way.” I nodded. 

“You said she was pretty,” Kevin added. 

“Yeah, so? She is. So is every other girl in this town,” I argued. 

“Jughead, calm down, we’re just teasing you.” Archie laughed.

“If you do like her, I can put a word in…” Betty trailed off, and winked. 

“There’s no need for that-”

“I have practice tomorrow, I can talk to her then. Actually, speaking of which, I should get going, so I’m not completely dead by then. Mind you, it’s almost 10:20, and my curfew is half past.” Betty kissed Archie and slid out of the booth. “Bye, see you guys tomorrow!” She said. Then, on her way out, mouthed at me, ‘I got this’. Great. The girl I love trying to hook me up with a girl she thinks I like. Just what I need. 

After a while, Kevin’s dad came to pick him up, so Archie and I decided that we may as well head home, too. As we strolled away from Pop’s, Archie elbowed me a couple of times. “You know you can tell me anything, right?”

I scoffed. “Shut up.”

“No. Jug, it’s okay. I don’t care if you like her.” He chuckled. “Actually, it’d be nice to see you get some action. Wait- not just action, but, like, happiness. You’re always so consumed in…” 

“My sadness about my dysfunctional family? Yeah. I’d rather not dump that on anyone else other than you and your dad, Archie.” 

“Understood. Just know, you can tell me anything, but you also don’t have to.”

His words lingered in my head for the entire walk home. I thought about it for a moment. Now, I don’t like Ginger at all. She’s way too full of herself to ever be a perfect match to me. But, as much of an asshole as this makes me sound like, having an interest in her would definitely conceal my feelings for Betty. It could even help me get closer to Betty, since they’re both Vixens. I do hate that whole basic, sporty, cam-whore crowd, but… You gotta do what you gotta do, right? 

“Umm…” I blurted after a while. Well, shit, now I have to say something. 

Archie raised his eyebrows. “Yeah?”

“I-” I groaned. “You can’t tell a soul, Arch. I’m serious.”

His smile grew. “So, it’s true?”

“Guilty.” I bit my lip, disgusted at myself. Was I really about to pretend I had a crush on a girl to mask my feelings for my best friend’s girlfriend? 

He laughed. “Oh, Jug. My lips are sealed.” 

“Good.” I forced a smirk. 

“Hey, I forgot to tell you, my dad is going to Chicago this weekend. I was gonna have some people over,” He proposed. 

Oh, well, I guess I’m fucked. “Sounds good,” I said. 

“I’ll invite all the Vixens, including Ginger.”

“Even better,” I added, intending sarcasm in my tone, but, Archie, being Archie, obviously thought I was being genuine. 

I wished I was being genuine. It was a shame that I had to resort to such a pathetic method to mask my feelings for a girl. By pretending to like another girl. An innocent teenage girl who was just trying to fulfill her role as a flirty cheerleader, yet was being wrongly sexualized by a few teenage boys. 

“Hey, we gotta make a stop at the convenience store on the way home,” Archie said. 

“How come?” 

He smirked. “We need rubbers. Lots and lots of rubbers.”

I kept my mouth shut. What the hell had I gotten myself into?


	4. Fake it Till You Make it

After dealing with funny looks from the Vixens - and even a couple of Bulldogs - for the rest of the week, Saturday rolled around before I knew it. It was the day of Archie’s party. I was lowkey dreading it, but, I had already come far enough in my mission to convince everyone I was smitten for Ginger, so, at least there was that. My biggest worry was my ability to show her fake affection. I mean, I knew how, since I received it from my mom most of the time, but doing it just seemed so wrong on so many levels. And, it was. But, love makes you do fucked up things, right? I guess all I really had to do was let her get as drunk as she could so she didn’t remember my phoniness. 

“Okay.” Archie walked into the living room. “Betty is on her way home from thera- uhh, the grocery store with her mom, then she’s gonna come over.”

I raised an eyebrow at him. “Sounds good.”

“So.” He smirked, knelt down to a small cabinet, and pulled out a bottle with ‘Smirnoff’ printed across it. “Ready to get fucked?”

“Really, Arch?” I laughed uncomfortably.

“Come on, Jug. I know your dad is struggling and everything, but, just try. You don’t have to if you really don’t want to, but, what’s the harm in trying?”

While in the middle of rolling my eyes, my phone vibrated. There was a text from an unsaved number. 

8:47 pm  
hey jughead, it’s ginger. archie said 9 right? i’ll be there at 10… ;)

I swallowed hard. “Y-you know what, fine. I changed my mind. I’ll try it.”

“That’s my boy!” Archie chuckled and poured a shot, passing it to me. I threw it back and gulped it as quick as I could. The residue in my throat burned painfully, and I let out a small cough, recovering swifter than I expected. A warmth gathered in the pit of my stomach, and, I decided I liked it. 

“Another one, please.” I handed him the shot glass. 

“Slow down, Jug.” He looked at me weird.

“I said, another, please.” 

He put his hands up in surrender, and poured another. I took it just like the last. It felt terrible going down, but once it was in, I began to feel my body letting loose. 

Archie took another, then left to go use the bathroom. I didn’t give a shit anymore, I wasn’t gonna slow down. I grabbed the bottle and took a huge swig. I tried to force the vile stuff down my throat, and, most of it went down, but a few drops got on the carpet when a sputtering coughing fit took over my body. I felt great. I took another, died coughing, took another, and, before I knew it, half the bottle was gone. I set it down, and stumbled backwards, falling onto the couch. I heard the front door open. Please, don’t be Fred Andrews, I thought for some odd reason. Then, Betty walked into the room. I had forgotten she was coming. 

“Hi, Jug!” She smiled. She looked amazing, clad in some black jeans and a white t-shirt. She had her signature ponytail in. Perfect. 

“Shit- Hey, Betty.” I tried to stand up, but, my legs gave out and I fell right back. 

“Oh, my God, are you okay?!” She laughed and rushed to my side.

“I’m fine. Thanks for asking, though.” I laid my head back, grinned, and shut my eyes. “You’re so sweet.”

“Betty?”

“Hey, Arch.” She stood up. 

“What the fuck, Jughead, did you drink all of that?” He held the bottle in his hands and studied where the level of alcohol was. 

“No, you took shots, too, dumbass,” I groaned. 

“Two shots. Half the bottle is gone. I knew I should have taken it with me.” He laughed. “Want some, Betty?”

“Oh, definitely. It’s been a rough day.” She grabbed the bottle from him, and I watched as her lips puckered on the inside of the bottle, and she took a considerably big shot. Honestly, it turned me on quite a bit. 

“Rough how?” 

She swallowed the shot, and looked at him like he was stupid. 

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“Pass me the bottle, please?” I tried to relieve the awkward tension in the room.

“Hang on,” She said, raising it to drink more.

“Betty-” Archie began. It was too late. She was chugging it, her face scrunching up in pain. I watched her intently, wondering how the fuck Betty Cooper herself was able to handle that much hard liquor. 

“Have at ‘er,” Betty said after a solid seven seconds of drinking, and passed it to me. I slowly grabbed it from her, and took another large drink, ignoring Archie’s protests. This was gonna be a long night. 

 

 

By 9:30, the party was in full swing. I didn’t understand anything that was happening, I was so drunk. All I knew is that my hat was missing - I think Archie took it to keep it safe, but I also wasn’t sure - and I’m pretty sure Betty was summoning me into the living room to play truth or dare. I secretly hoped someone would dare us to fuck in the closet or something. 

“Hey, Jones.”

I turned around, and there stood Ginger Lopez. She smirked up at me. She was wearing a pretty, short, black dress, and her tits were what you would call ‘up to her fucking neck’. “Lopez. Did you just get here?”

“Yup. Are you drunk?” She laughed. 

“Nahhh,” I slurred. “Come on, now. Truth or dare, living room.”

We went to sit down on one of the couches. “Where’s that beloved beanie of yours?”

“I have no fucking idea.” I shut my eyes.

“Alright, kiddies.” Veronica and Cheryl stood next to each other, and Cheryl shouted over the music and chatter. “T or d. You get one chicken, and one mirror. No ifs, ands or buts.”

The game progressed a little. People were dared to strip, kiss each other, take shots, give lap dances, some secrets came out… Your typical teenage game of truth or dare. I was literally about to pass the fuck out, I was so drunk.

“Forsythe the third.” Veronica smiled down at me and crossed her arms. “Truth or dare?”

“Truth, I’m getting tired.” 

“Is it true you helped your dad sell drugs when you were like, 13?” Some people laughed, and I rolled my eyes, taking a swig of a random bottle. 

“Leave him alone, Veronica.”

“Mirror,” I announced. “Veronica, is it true that back in New York, you used to raise money to ‘buy clothes for the less fortunate’, but you really used the money to buy drugs and add to your knockoff Louis collection?”

Veronica’s mouth hung open. “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about?”

“Yeah, you do.” I smiled, standing up, and holding the bottle. “I work at the drive in, Veronica. I hear all the fucking gossip of the town. Especially that of the Serpents, who seem to be a huge fan of that embezzling father of yours. Don’t blame me for knowing. Blame them. They’re a very unpretentious bunch.”

Veronica gulped as people laughed. “Okay, well, I guess it’s my turn again,” She said with a smirk. “Betty, truth or dare?”

“... Dare, I guess,” she shrugged. 

“I dare you and Jughead to go upstairs, and not leave until one of you has a hickey.”

The whole room looked at each other, their mouths all agape. My stomach sank. “No way. You’re mentally unstable if you think I’d do something like that to Archie. Or that Jughead would do that to him. Or that Archie would do something like that to me.”

Veronica raised her eyebrows at the last sentence. “Oh? Then how come-”

“I’ll go upstairs with him!” Ginger shouted, interrupting Veronica. 

I stared at Ginger. “Wait-” Before I could protest any further, she grabbed me by my wrist and led me out of the living room. I tried to ignore the whoops and cheers from everyone. They all echoed in my brain. I felt like an asshole, fuckboy jock, but my body didn’t care. I let her bring me up the stairs. I remembered I still had the bottle in my hand. I took a shot. It was beginning to run out. 

Next thing I knew, I was being pulled into a random bedroom. I think it was the guest room. “Betty told me everything,” She whispered, locking the door. 

“Huh?” I leaned against the wall, looking at her through the tiny slit that my eyelids allowed. I gulped as Ginger came closer to me and ran a hand through my hair. 

“You’re so hot without the hat on, you know?” She moaned, and started to nibble on my neck. I leaned my head back and my hands found her waist. My heart was saying, no, don’t do this, but I didn’t give a shit. Nothing that I did mattered anymore. Fuck it. I won’t even remember this tomorrow. 

“Yeah?” I licked my lips as she began to make a hickey. 

“Yeah,” she whispered.

Again, my body overpowered my mind. My hands slid down further, and began to grab at her ass. Her lips moved up to mine, and we began to make out. All I tasted was cherry flavoured lip gloss and vodka, and it was great. I imagined doing this with Betty, and, almost immediately, I was a hundred times more turned on. “Jump,” I whispered into her mouth. She did so, and I held her close so she was straddling me. I carried her to the bed, and she laid me down, climbing on top of me. I started to get hard at the friction. She pulled her dress off, revealing her black lingerie, and I moaned. I could very faintly see her because the lamp in the back corner was left on - meaning there were probably others in here, too, at some point. Whatever - who knows, who cares?

Ginger removed my shirt and jeans, leaving us both in just our underwear. Keeping her eyes locked with my own, she pulled a condom out of her bra. My stomach churned; I knew I was a virgin, but, at the time, I didn’t give half a fuck. I was way too drunk to care. Just say fuck it, right? Archie said I had to stop overthinking all my decisions, and I was doing exactly that. I smiled up at Ginger. “You’re soo hot,” I slurred. 

“Never thought I’d say this, but, you are, too.” She winked at me and tugged my boxers down, revealing my erection. She gasped and smirked when she saw it, and I bit my lip in worry. “Holy shit, that is not what I was expecting at all,” She laughed. What the hell did she mean?

“Wha- oh, fuck,” I moaned as she took me in her mouth. I had to grab something, fast. My hand found her hair. I held it out of her face. This is what Archie told me to do incase I were to ever get my dick sucked one day. ‘Kiss her ass, Jug. She’s letting you shove your dick down her throat,’ he said. 

Ginger went to damn town, let me tell you. She knew what she was doing. The whole time she was doing it, I thought of Betty. I imagined her lips wrapped around me, and her big, curious green eyes peering up at me. I loudly groaned just at the thought of that, and Ginger let out a giggle. I twitched inside her mouth, struggling to hold myself together. She seemed to sense that, and she suddenly stopped. She took off her bra, and I suddenly remembered it was my first time even seeing a naked girl in real life. That felt really fucking weird. She offered to put the condom on for me. I gladly accepted, since I was way too drunk to correctly put on a condom - especially since it was my first time even wearing one. 

She climbed on top of me and I gripped her thighs as she slowly inched down. There was no going back now. I silently cursed under my breath. She heard me, and smirked. I guess she thought it was enjoyment. It wasn’t at first. But then it started progressing from there, getting faster, and I was shocked at how good it felt. Ginger was a wild one, that was for sure. I’ll never forget how loud she was, and how hard she tried to hold her moaning back. After a little bit, we switched positions. This time, I was on top. I tried to recall what Archie said to do… I couldn’t, I was way too wasted. I guessed I would just wing it. I pushed into her, starting out a bit slow, then picking up the pace. She seemed to enjoy it… No, she definitely enjoyed it. Why else would she be yelling ‘fuck’ and ‘shit’ at the top of her lungs? 

I pressed my lips against Ginger’s in an attempt to shut her up. She moaned into the kiss as her breath quickened. “Holy shit,” She said as she exhaled sharply. I still don’t know how I still had so much energy, but I decided to go faster and harder. She let out a cry that made my ears ring. “I’m gonna cum,” She groaned. I realized I was close too, and all it took was her walls tightening and the sudden warmth and wetness around me to make me lose control of it. I pulled out of her and rolled over next to her, lazily pulling off the condom and tossing it on the bedside table. 

“I never took you as a sex God, Jughead Jones.” Ginger regained her breath, and pulled her panties back up. “I hope you know you’re amazing in bed.”

“Thanks,” I whispered, wiping the sheen of sweat off my forehead.

“Are you gonna come back downstairs?” She reached behind her back and clasped her bra. 

“No… Too drunk…” I felt around for the covers. I was starting to get cold, you know, without a girl on top of me and stuff.

“... Okay,” she nodded. “I’ll let you pass out. You are really fucked up.” She grinned, pulling her dress back on. “Have a good sleep.” 

My eyes grew lazy as Ginger walked over to my side of the bed, kissed my forehead, and left. The moment she closed the door, my whole upper body lurched to the side, and I emptied all my stomach contents onto the hardwood floor. Or, maybe it was on the carpet? Once again, I was too drunk to know, or care. 

 

 

The following morning, I woke up in Archie’s guest bedroom, confused. I didn’t move for about twenty minutes. I tried to swallow, and nothing went down except my extreme case of cottonmouth that tasted like vomit. I sat up quickly, and groaned at the pounding in my head. I tried calling Archie’s name, but my throat was so sore that it came out as a puny squeak. I sighed, rubbed my eyes, and lifted the duvet. Woah, why the fuck was I naked? I glanced around the room, trying to find my clothes. When my eyes found the bedside table, they found a condom. A used condom. I picked it up, then quickly threw it back, realizing I didn’t know if it was mine. “Archie?!” I called his name louder and clearer. 

After a minute, he knocked on the door. “Jughead?”

“Get in here, now.”

He walked in, and laughed under his breath when he saw the puke next to the bed. Then, he paused when he saw a pair of boxers; my boxers. “Jughead, what the hell-”

“I think I- look.” I gestured to the condom on the bedside table.

“Did you fuck someone last night?” He joked. “No way.”

I thought for a minute. The memories all started to flood back. Truth or dare… Veronica… Ginger… Bedroom… Ginger on top of me… Ginger on top of me?! “Oh my fucking God… I fucked Ginger Lopez,” I realized out loud. 

Archie burst out laughing. “You lost your virginity to Ginger Lopez. No fucking way. Score!”

“No! Not a score!” I covered my face with my hands. “And, get me my fucking clothes, dude.”

“Jug, I always knew you had it in you,” He winked, tossing me my boxers. I groaned, tugging them on. 

“You don’t get it, Archie, I wasn’t-” I cut myself off. I was about to tell him I wasn’t ready, but, there was no use. “Nevermind, it’s nothing. You wanna go to Pop’s?”

“Yeah, definitely. I’m gonna go have a shower. Betty’s still in bed, can you get her up?”

“Okay.” I shoved the carpet next to the bed into a trash bag that was stashed outside the room, since it was covered in puke. There was no use in keeping it. I then quickly washed my hands, put on some of Archie’s old clothes that were in the closet, and went across the hall to Archie’s room. There she was, peacefully sleeping on her side. Blonde hair cascading down one side of her face. Mouth slightly open. Breathing steadily, still fast asleep. I couldn’t help but smile. She was in a state of pure tranquility. I couldn’t wake her yet. I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

Instead, I made my way downstairs to quickly make her some coffee, in a way to kill some time so she could get at least 10 more minutes. Good thing Archie took his time in the shower. I knew exactly how she liked it, since she always ordered the same one at Pop’s - two cream, one sugar. I also took an Advil, and brought some along with me for the hangover I was sure she had. I walked back upstairs, smiling when I heard Archie still several minutes away from being finished in the shower. Betty was still fast asleep. I set the coffee down on the table and sat down on the bed beside her. I lightly tapped her shoulder. “Psst, Betty,” I whispered. Her green eyes opened in slits, and her pupils dialated at the stream of sunlight in her eyes. She looked up at me, and gave me a tired smile. “Morning, Jug,” she croaked. 

“Archie’s in the shower, he told me to wake you up,” I said, still in a whisper. “I also brought you coffee and Advil.”

“You did?” She grinned and rubbed her eyes, sitting up with a grunt. “Archie never does this shit for me.” She let out an empty laugh and grabbed the coffee, taking a large gulp of it. 

I bit my lip and looked at the floor when she said that. I would treat you the complete opposite, I thought to myself. 

“So, you and Ginger?” Betty smirked at me, popping an Advil in her mouth. 

I put my hands over my face in embarrassment to hide the blush creeping up on my cheeks. “I’d forgotten for five minutes.”

“You guys sure made an exit last night. Then, an hour later, she made an entrance.”

“What kind of entrance?” I frowned. 

“She walks in the room, looking all smug. Then she grabbed Tina, Cheryl and Veronica, and they all went outside to talk.”

“Fuck…” My stomach churned. “Betty… Ginger and I had sex.”

“Yeah, so?” She sipped her coffee.

“I was… I was a virgin,” I whispered. 

Betty choked on her coffee. “What?!” 

“I drunkenly lost my virginity to Ginger Lopez,” I stated out loud. 

“Jughead, I thought you lost your virginity to Ethel Muggs!” She put her cup down and sat up more. 

I rolled my eyes. “That eighth grade rumor that Veronica and Cheryl spread, because we were partners for a novel study? You really believed that?”

“Not to be blunt, but, everybody did, Jug.” She pursed her lips.

“Right.” I nodded. “But that doesn’t change what happened.”

“What are you gonna do?” She leaned against the headboard. 

“I don’t know, Betty.” I sighed. 

“Well, you like her, don’t you?” 

“I-” I cut myself off to prevent the truth from coming out. “Yeah, but, what if the worst comes of this? She told her bitch squad, and now they’re gonna-”

“Hey.” She moved over so she was next to me. Her bare leg touched against mine, and I refrained from reacting. Then she put her hand on my shoulder, so I really had to refrain from reacting. “I’ll defend you, if anything happens, okay? Yeah, they’re my cheer teammates, but I will bitch them out if I have to. You’re my friend.”

Friend. Such a meaningful word, yet a word so close to ‘end’. All good things come to an end, they say. Was this forever? Surely not. We were friends now, but, from how things have been looking, fifteen years from now, I’ll be out of the picture. I’ll probably be an alcoholic, like my dad, with a minimum wage job at Pop’s or the Riverdale library for the rest of my life. Betty and Archie would have gotten married, driven the fuck out of this dangerous, deadbeat town, started a family of six somewhere extravagant like New York City, and died peacefully in an old folks’ home together. Then they’ll continue to love it up in heaven, and I’ll be watching them with the same pang of sadness I feel every single day, from down below in the depths of hell, where I belong. Maybe I was overthinking everything, and maybe everything could go totally different, and there was a one in a billion chance it could go the complete opposite… Was that one chance bound to come across me one day? Or would it invisibly linger around me like oxygen, taunting me, repelling my touch every time I tried taking it? There was no way to tell, but did I even really want to know?

My train of thought was interrupted with Archie bursting in, causing us to flinch, walking over to Betty, leaning over me to kiss her, and asking us if we were ready to leave.


	5. Thomas from Project X

I stared at the beanie clad head on the broad shoulders in the mirror in front of me. I told myself I could do this, even though I knew deep down that I couldn’t. My mom always used to hold my hands and look straight into my eyes with her own identical, Mediterranean sea blue ones. “Breathe with me, Juggie,” She would whisper in her soft voice, which had the smallest hint of rasp, since she had started smoking in the last few years. We would take a deep breath together, count to five, and breathe it out. She did the same with Jellybean, except she would always kiss her hair and sing her to sleep afterwards. Then, she would fall asleep with her. She never did much for me in that department, just the cliche breathing exercises. To this day, I still don’t know if it was because I was six years older and she thought I was tough enough to handle the rest on my own, or if she just didn’t really care.

“It’s fine,” I told myself, not caring if Archie or Fred heard me. “You’ll be fi-”

“Jug! Hurry up, we’re gonna be late!” 

I rolled my eyes and left the bathroom, pushing past Archie to get downstairs. I was still trying to chill the fuck out and stop dreading this day - Monday - as much as I was. He was hot on my heels, still yelling useless information about how much tardiness affects your grades. It was still 8:10, and we didn’t start until 8:30. He only lived a ten minute walk, too. All I was worried about was keeping Betty waiting, since we usually met her at 8:05. 

My nerves finally came to a brief halt when I saw her standing at the end of Archie’s driveway, on her phone. She wore a thin blue shirt and a brown corduroy skirt. I bit the inside of my lip. Now that I had a drunken idea of what sex actually felt like, I wanted to do it with her ten times more. It was probably mind blowing. Archie had no idea how lucky he was. I knew they had sex, I wasn’t stupid. They had been dating for years, of course they did it. I remember hearing them once, when I got to Archie’s late from school. I immediately had to get out and sit in the garage for a while, because I didn’t know if I’d be able to handle hearing them for more than five seconds. 

“Morning, boys,” She yawned. “Ready to tackle the week?”

“Nope.” I trudged down the driveway, onto the sidewalk. 

“Calm down. You lost your virginity, you should be thankful,” Archie scoffed.

“Archie!” Betty snapped. “That’s such an ignorant thing to say.”

I smirked to myself, then got my cool back. “It’s okay, Betty. But, to be fair, Archie, I was drunk as fuck. I wouldn’t have done it if I were sober.”

He rolled his eyes. “I’m sure Ginger would love to hear that.”

“Well, it’s not like she needs to know. It’s not even like I have to talk to her about it,” I said, sighing.

“Then you’re gonna look like an even bigger asshole,” Archie argued. 

“Ginger might avoid you just a little bit,” Betty warned me, ignoring Archie. “That, or she’ll pounce on you, with her friends giggling amongst each other in the distance. Either way, be prepared.”

“Do you think she told people?” I asked, cringing a bit, hoping she hadn’t.

“Oh, she definitely told people,” Betty chuckled. “Mostly the Vixens she’s closest to, if I were to guess. If she tells me, that’s not a very good sign, ‘cause… I- y’know, Ginger and I, uh, w-we’re not really that close…” she cleared her throat. I raised an eyebrow at her. 

“Okay… Well, I guess I’ll just go with the flow.” I shrugged. “I’ll let her come to me.”

 

 

Ginger did end up coming to me. In the five minute transition period after the first class of the day, she ambushed me at my locker. “So, Holden Caufield by day, Thomas the birthday boy by night? I never took you as such a party animal, Jones.” She smirked, leaning against a locker.

“Thomas? From Project X?” I shook my head and gave an amused chuckle. “To be fair, I didn’t take any drugs.”

“But you hooked up with the girl you liked.” She smiled, and leaned in closer. “Just one difference… You didn’t fuck it up by being shitty in bed, or getting your friends to hide in the closet and videotape it.”

I smiled, then it slowly faded away. I remembered I was pretending to like her. What if she was starting to like me? “Um, Ginger?” I took a book out of my locker and avoided eye contact with her. “I was wondering if we could-”

“Pretend it never happened?” She shrugged. “Whatever, I’m down.”

“Wait, are you serious?” I furrowed my eyebrows at her.

“Are you?” She laughed. “Okay, obviously I’m gonna tell my best friends, but, believe it or not, I’m not like Cheryl or Veronica. Neither is Tina, most of the time. I don’t kiss and tell. My lips are sealed.”

“Thank you, Ginger.” I sighed in relief. 

“Besides, as great as you were, I don’t just settle on one guy,” She admitted. “But, anyway, if you’re willing to just, like, not talk about it at all after today… I wanna be friends. I think you’re cool, Jughead.”

“Why, because I got shitfaced at Archie’s amateur house party and made an absolute ass of myself?” I joked, closing my locker. We walked side by side.

“Exactly!” She pointed at me. “Before Saturday, I had no idea who you really were. But I genuinely find you cool.”

“You sure it’s not just because we… did it?” I asked her, a serious look on my face.

“Did what?” Ginger raised her eyebrows sarcastically, and smiled as she parted ways from me to go to her own class. I smiled, too, glad that she understood. I was expecting that to go way worse. 

“Hey, Jughead!” Veronica brushed past me. “How’s life in a loser virgin world, minus the virgin part?”

“It’s actually okay, thanks for asking.” I gave her a cheeky half smile. I felt her fuming in defeat behind me when I left, and I quietly laughed to myself.

“Jughead Jones! Allow me to accompany you on our mutual stroll to English Lit.”

The tall, red haired queen bee who was Cheryl Blossom was in front of me, then beside me. before I knew it. “You’re very popular today. First Ginger, then Veronica, then me?!”

“What do you want, Cheryl?” I kept walking. 

“Just to know how you’re doing! No harm in that, right?” She followed closely. I was getting really irritated. 

“I’m fine, I guess.”

“Great. Hey, I was wondering,” She began as we walked into class. “How is-”

“Life as someone who isn’t a virgin anymore? It’s fine, thanks for asking,” I snapped, walking away from her, and to my assigned seat. I put all my books on the table and slumped down into the chair. She followed behind me, a smug smile on her face, and sat down two desks away from me.

“Good morning, everyone,” Mr. Fraser said, standing up from his seat. “So, today we’ll be-”

He was interrupted by a knock on the door. He furrowed his eyebrows and opened it, revealing Principal Weatherbee, and a young girl standing behind him. They mumbled some stuff to each other, and the girl poked her head in the class, looking around worriedly. 

“Hello, students,” Principal Weatherbee said, bringing the girl inside. “I’d like to introduce a new student, and now a new classmate of yours, Toni Topaz.”

Toni had pink hair, some parts lighter than others, relatively dark makeup, darker skin, her outfit screamed a cleaned-up, female John Bender from Breakfast Club, and she had a very pissed-off look on her face. She didn’t look like she wanted to be here whatsoever.

“You can sit back there, Toni, in that spare desk.” 

“Whatever,” she mumbled, trudging to the desk between mine and Cheryl’s, and sitting down with an over exaggerated sigh. I smiled to myself. Her intolerance was funny.

“So, anyways, as I was saying, today, we will be going over yesterday’s notes together. As you recall in chapter one in Lord of The Flies, Ralph and Piggy were introduced. They met some others. What were some of their names?”

“Simon, Jack, Sam, Eric, Roger, Maurice, Robert, and the littl’uns, with their only three who were introduced, Henry, Johnny, and Percival,” Cheryl said before anyone could raise their hand. “Wemys Madison. Percival Wemys Madison. Sorry.” One thing everyone knew about Cheryl was that she had an amazing memory when it came to books. Apparently reading was a guilty pleasure of hers. It was a shame that was considered weird in society. That would also tell me why she literally has a response to everything. 

“Very good, Cheryl! Now, uh, Ethel can you tell me… Why are the boys on this island again?”

Toni stared at Cheryl. She looked her up and down, from the top of her ginger hair covered head to the red bottoms of her Louboutins. The moment Cheryl noticed her, Toni’s eyes shot straight to her lap. “What are you looking at, Pinky Pie?” She spat.

Toni let out a laugh. “You, Strawberry Shortcake.”

Cheryl’s bright red lips parted. “Do you know who you’re talking to?”

“No,” Toni whispered, a smirk on her face. “But I do know that even though you have the attitude of Paris Hilton, you have the smarts of Mr. Shakespeare.”

The redhead went quiet, and stared straight ahead, continuing to listen to Mr. Fraser. I nudged Toni’s shoulder, and she glanced over at me. “You know, nobody talks to Cheryl like that,” I whispered.

“Oh, well, I guess I just did,” She shrugged, smiling. “Hey, is she single?”

“Yeah-” I froze when I realized what she said. “Uh… Yeah, but, back away. She’s as straight as a windowsill.”

She furrowed her eyebrows. “How do you know?”

“Because I’ve known her since preschool,” I said. “She always dates boys. Always.”

“Alright, well, everyone’s on the spectrum. Maybe I was meant to come here. To see where she’s at.” She winked. 

“Jones, Topaz,” Mr. Fraser said. “Pay attention. I’m assigning partners.”

“Fuck what he says,” Toni said under her breath. “We’ll be partners, okay?”

“Oh, I-”

“Is it just me, or do you have zero friends in this class?”

I raised an eyebrow. “Uh, I don't. They’re in other classes.”

“Then stop arguing,” She said jokingly through gritted teeth. 

Once Mr. Fraser was done assigning everybody else partners to compare yesterday’s notes, his eyes met with mine and Toni’s. “Alright. Since you two get along so well, why don’t you partner up?”

“How could I say no?” Toni looked over at me and gave me a playful smile. 

“And, Cheryl,” He said, “I know you prefer to work alone, so…”

“No,” Toni interrupted. “You’re with us.”

“Thanks, Emily The Strange, but, I’ll pass,” She chirped sarcastically. 

“Alright, have it your way,” she mumbled, moving her desk over to mine. “Now, I didn’t do these notes, so, why don’t you just tell me about yourself?”

“Um, actually-”

“Hold it. You don’t actually want to do schoolwork, do you?”

“I-”

“Oh, come on. If anything, we can get help from Miss America over there.” She gestured to Cheryl, who was already completely engrossed in her work. 

“Alright, well…” I sighed. “My name is Jughead Jones the third, I’m sixteen as of this past October, and I’m in love with my best friend’s girlfriend.”

“Woah, really?” She laughed, then her face softened as she realized I was serious. “Fuck.”

“Anyway, what about you?” 

“I’m Toni Topaz, I’m sixteen as of next week, my birthstone is the same as my last name, and I much prefer women over men.”

“You don’t say?” I smiled. “Did you say your birthday is next week?”

“Yep, next Saturday,” She said. 

“We should have a party or something,” I suggested. 

Cheryl immediately moved her chair in front of our desks. “Did someone say party? For what?”

Toni smiled in amusement. “My birthday.”

“Ugh, seriously?” She rolled her eyes. “Whatever, sure. I’ll buy all the black balloons and confetti you want. I’ll even pay Dilton Doiley to give me black doves or something.”

“Why?”

“Because, clearly, black is your favourite colour.” She gestured to her entire outfit, which was in fact all black.

“It is. Even my underwear is black, wanna see?” She smirked. 

“Okay, so it’s settled,” I butted in. “Come sit with me at lunch, Toni. You can meet everybody. We can do some planning then.”

“Not even one hour, and I’m already offered to have my birthday party thrown for me?” Toni chuckled. “I could get used to this school, as hoity toity as it is.”

 

 

 

I approached the table that everybody was at, Toni standing next to me. “Hey, guys, I wanna introduce you to Toni. She’s new at Riverdale High.” We sat down next to each other, and everyone smiled at her. 

“Kevin Keller.” Kevin smiled.

“Archie Andrews.”

“I’m Betty Cooper!” Betty said cheerfully, holding out her hand for Toni to shake, which she reluctantly did. 

“Have we met before…?” Toni studied Betty. 

“No, I don’t think so.” She shrugged, then paused. “Wait, did Weatherbee mention a peer mentor?”

“Oh, yeah, that. He did mention something about a Betty Cooper,” she nodded. 

“That’s me! I’ll gladly give you the tour once we’re done eating,” she said. “There’s a lot you should know. Jughead, you come with us.”

“Of course,” I answered almost immediately. 

“So, where’d you transfer from?” Archie asked.

“Southside,” Toni said a little more blunt than she should have. 

“W-what brings you here?” Kevin practically whimpered.

“Expulsion.” She smirked. 

“What did you do?” I looked at her in surprise. 

“You’ll find out one day,” she mumbled. “Maybe when we know each other well enough.”

“It can’t be that bad,” Archie raised an eyebrow. 

“I didn’t get an oops slip, I got kicked out,” she challenged him. “You’ll find out one day,” she repeated. Archie shrugged, and we all continued eating, not saying much to each other.

“Toni, wanna go for that tour now?” Betty offered after a bit, interrupting the awkward silence. 

“I’d be more than glad,” she said, picking up her backpack. “Come on, Jughead.”

I followed the two of them to the hallway and watched Betty as she showed her around. “So, obviously, that was the cafeteria. The door next to it is the door to the gym. Right this way, you have the English hallway, then to your left is the math hallway…” 

I stared at her as she kept passionately speaking about the directions of hallways and specific rooms, and I couldn’t help but smile. She was definitely rambling, but I didn’t care. I loved it. Toni noticed me staring at her so wistfully, since I was obviously doing it any time Betty’s attention wasn’t on me.

“... And, here’s the student lounge. We’ll usually come here to hang out before school starts, or after we eat lunch, or after school to study. You’ll probably find yourself here a lot.”

“Does Cheryl hang out here?” she asked. I laughed under my breath.

“Uh, yeah, sometimes…” Betty raised an eyebrow.

“Then I guess I will find myself here… sometimes.” Toni smirked. Betty gave me a look, and I raised my eyebrows at her.

“So, you like Cheryl?” Betty grinned at her.

“Well, she’s hot. Plays hard to get, though. Mind you, that makes her even hotter,” Toni said, glancing to the side. Cheryl was walking down the hallway, alongside Ginger, Tina and Veronica, the four of them gossiping about something. They were heading our way, to the lounge. “Her hair, dude. If she would let me pull it…”

“Okay, I’m gonna stop you right there,” I laughed. “Save it for when you guys get to know each other.”

The girls approached us, and Veronica stepped right into Toni’s personal space. “Out of the way, Lucy Sketch.”

“Excuse me?” Toni challenged, leaning down so she was eye to eye with the short hispanic girl.

“I said, move. And, while you’re at it, leave Cheryl alone.”

“Oh, please. Leave her alone? I haven’t touched her…” she leaned closer to Veronica’s ear. “... Yet,” she whispered. 

“Gross. Get away from me, stupid dyke,” she muttered, rolling her eyes. 

Toni didn’t hesitate to slap Veronica straight in the eye and kick her in the legs, causing her to topple over. “Say that one more time, you privileged little ice princess whore.”

“Toni!” I yelled, grabbing her from behind. “Don’t do this. Please.” 

“Yeah, that’s right, bitch,” she taunted Veronica as Ginger and Tina helped her up. “I know all about your daddy. Watch the fuck out.”

“Don’t talk about my family-” Veronica went to hit Toni, and she caught her wrist. Veronica winced in pain as Toni squeezed it harder by the second. 

“What’d you say?” She glared down at her. Veronica said nothing. “Yeah, that’s what I thought. Don’t you dare shame me for happening to take an interest in what happens to be an abnormality in your perfect little Roman Catholic household. And, not a word about this to the principal, or I’ll call up my cousin, who works for TM-fucking-Z, and she’ll expose your parents for what really happens behind Lodge Industries’ closed doors, and you, confirming that you’re the homophobic little bitch that everyone already thinks you are. We don’t want that, do we?”

“No, that won’t be necessary,” Veronica whimpered.

“That’s what I thought.” Toni threw her wrist down, and stepped to the side. “Entre vous.”

Their brown eyes locked with each other as she sheepishly walked into the lounge. Ginger and Tina followed, not bothering to make eye contact. Cheryl went last, but stopped next to Toni.

“You’re crazy,” She snapped. Then, a small smile creeped up on her lips. “I like it.” With that, she followed behind her friends, joining them on the couch.

Toni watched her walk away in disbelief, her mouth hanging open slightly. 

“Toni, from the bottom of my heart, thank you. Nobody has ever stood up to Veronica like that. That was honestly so brave of you,” Betty gushed.

“Brave?” Toni laughed. “Brave, for me, would be killing somebody. That was nothing. I’ve dealt with plenty like her.”

The bell rang, telling us lunch was over. Toni simply shrugged and walked away to find her next class, leaving Betty and I alone. 

“So, did you talk to Ginger?” Betty asked. 

“No,” I lied. “She gave me a friendly smile as we passed each other in the halls, but that was it.”

“Oh, well. Her friends didn’t tease you, that’s a good sign.”

“Actually, yeah, they did. Cheryl and Veronica.” I smiled softly, shaking my head. “It wasn’t severe, though. I don’t really care.”

“I like your attitude.” She grinned. 

“Oh, I forgot to tell you. It’s Toni’s birthday next Saturday, and she wants to throw a party. We’re not sure about a location yet. Will you come?”

“Yeah, sure. I’m sure we can find somewhere to have it.”

“Step aside, outcasts, I have a class to get to,” Cheryl sighed. When we made space for her, she marched between us, but stopped when she was about to leave. “Also, about that party, Jughead, we can have it at my place. Let Toni know she’s welcome over anytime.” She smiled, then put on a straight face. “Wait, no! Don’t tell her that last part. Just say I’m hosting the party.” Cheryl scurried off. 

Betty and I looked at each other, and burst into laughter. “Does someone have mutual feelings?” She asked.

“I don’t know if I believe it.” I shrugged. “I’ll support her, whoever she likes, but she has just always been the same way.”

“Yeah...” Betty watched Cheryl as she walked away. “Anyway, I gotta get to class, see ya.” She gave me a sweet smile and headed off. I watched her as she caught up with Kevin and Archie, and couldn’t help but smile endearingly at how happy she looked, then have it fade away, as I knew it was because of Archie. I hope one day I can be that for her, I thought to myself as I trudged down the hallway to math class.


	6. If It Weren't For Me

Toni Topaz turned sixteen on November 15th of our junior year, and I don’t think someone could be more excited for a birthday party than she was. The entire morning consisted of her texting me, making sure of what time she should be at Cheryl’s, asking me (of all people) advice on what she should wear, if she should bring anything… You name it.

“Just so you know, we’re heading to Betty’s in, like, 20. We’re gonna wait for her to get ready then we’re gonna leave,” Archie said, pulling a shirt on.

“Okay.” I got up to get some clothes of my own. “Did you get Toni anything?”

He laughed, pulling a bottle of Hennessy out of his sock drawer. “Who do you think I am?”

I widened my eyes, reached for my bag, and also pulled out a bottle of Hennessy. “Great minds.”

We laughed and put them into Archie’s bag. “Why don’t we keep one for ourselves? She’s probably gonna be gifted, like, 10 bottles anyway.”

“True. We’ll give her one as a gift from both of us, and we’ll have the other.”

“It’s a plan, then,” I nodded. “Just, please, don’t let me get so drunk that I fuck Ginger again?”

“Let’s rephrase that; I won’t leave you alone with the bottle,” He pointed out.

I chuckled. “Fair enough.”

It didn’t take long to get ready to go to Betty’s. Not even five seconds after knocking at her door, it opened wide, revealing our very own Alice Cooper, dressed in professional attire, even in the private comfort of her own home. “Archie.” She forced a grin at him, then looked to me in surprise. “Jughead! It’s nice to see you again. How is your father doing?” 

Archie and I exchanged a look. I shrugged. “Fine.”

“Good. I just can’t help but notice you’re in this neighbourhood all the time. Walking my Elizabeth to school. Chatting her up next to Archie’s trash cans.”

I raised an eyebrow at her.

“Betty is upstairs.” Alice took a step to the left and ushered us inside, in which we reluctantly entered the house. “Jughead, you stay for a minute.”

I gave Archie a panicked look. He shrugged and went up the stairwell, leaving me alone with her.  
“Don’t worry. You’re not about to feel my wrath,” Alice reassured me. I gulped. “I just wanted to let you know… I know what’s going on. I know you live with Archie,” she whispered.

“Uh, Mrs. Cooper-”

“Alice,” she corrected me. “Jughead, it’s anything but discreet. I wouldn’t be surprised if Betty knew. Not that she does. I won’t tell her if you don’t want me to.”

“Thanks,” I mumbled.

“I know what you’re going through. I was hardly home as a teenager, and it was because both of my parents were like your dad. So, I just wanted to let you know, if you ever need anything, and Fred isn’t there, we’re right next door.”

I stared at her in disbelief. “Oh, um… Thank you. Means a lot.”

“You can go now.” She smiled at me, and leaned against the table. I nodded and started up the stairs, my stomach doing backflips. 

“Jughead.”

My head snapped in her direction. “Y-yeah?”

“Leave the door open.” 

“Of course…” I glanced to the floor and swiftly continued up the stairs, where Archie was waiting for me. I heard Alice cackle behind me. 

“So?” He whispered. “What just happened?”

“Dude, she knows I live with you,” I breathed. “But… she was cool about it. She just said she was right next door if I ever needed anything, kind of thing.”

“Wow. Congratulations. She’s a hard one to please. Hell, I’ve been around her nearly every day since I was four and I still haven’t completely pleased her.” He chuckled, making his way to Betty’s room. As soon as his back was to me, I broke out into a smile. I hardly even knew Alice. I’d barely even spoken to her since I met Betty, and she was fond of me already. 

Archie knocked on the door. “Elizabeth!”

“Archibald and Forsythe!” She giggled. “Come in.”

I rolled my eyes as I came in. “Never say that again.”

“I’ll keep saying it, just because it bothers you,” Betty teased, laughing.

We sat down on her bed. She was standing in the mirror, smoothing her outfit down. Then she turned around, and I silently thanked God I was behind Archie. “How do I look?” She smiled sheepishly and looked down. She was wearing a royal blue tank top, which was tucked into a black skirt, accentuating her curves in all the right places, and making her legs look fucking amazing. It took everything in me to not tell her how overwhelmingly incredible she looked. 

“You look good,” Archie deadpanned, nodding his head. Betty frowned slightly, then looked at herself in the mirror again. Was he stupid? I had to do something.

“You look amazing,” I blurted, without thinking. 

Betty stopped and turned around, her eyes locked on mine. “Really?”

“Yeah.” I smiled shyly at her. 

“Thanks, Jug,” she whispered giddily as she wandered to her closet to grab a coat.

Archie looked at me weird. I raised my eyebrows at him, as if to tell him something. 

“Okay, let’s go,” Betty said, pulling on her jacket and grabbing her phone. 

“Talk later,” Archie whispered in my ear through gritted teeth. I furrowed my eyebrows at him. All he responded with was a soft glare, then his back to me as he followed Betty downstairs. Was he seriously envious of me because I uplifted his girlfriend’s spirits after he brought them down? That alone scared me to even confess how I felt about her. 

“Okay, mom, we’re leaving,” Betty said to Alice who was sat on the couch, typing away - probably writing an article for the Register.

“Alright, have fun, sweetie. Boys, you’ll make sure she gets home at midnight? No later than half past?”

“Yeah,” Archie grumbled. Alice and Betty looked at him weird. 

“I mean it, Archie. Stop being such a twerp,” She huffed. I laughed under my breath. “Do you have your phone, Elizabeth?”

“Yes.” 

“Okay. Text me every hour.”

With that, we left, and started to walk to the bus stop in agonizing silence. I kept seeing Archie looking over at me, which I ignored, but in my mind I felt annoyed to no end. Betty wasn’t speaking to either of us. You could cut the tension between us with a knife. After five incredibly slow minutes, the bus arrived. 

“You two are ridiculous,” Betty said very matter-of-factly as she stepped on the bus. I looked at Archie and raised my eyebrows, going in after her. I silently thanked God that the bus ride to Thornhill was only a few minutes, and there was no traffic, because it was so hard to tolerate this incredibly awkward situation. 

The bus eventually got up to Thornhill and we eagerly got out, descending into the crowd of our classmates making their way to the front door. Cheryl, clad in a tight, strapless, velvet, red dress (what a shocker), was greeting everybody as they went inside. 

“Why, hello there, Holy Trinity,” she said, clasping her hands together when she saw us. 

“Cheryl.” I nodded. “Where’s Toni?”

“Ironically, dancing in the sitting room, very violently, might I add, already drunk off her ass,” she chuckled. “Happy birthday to her.”

Betty raised her eyebrows. “I’ll have what she’s having,” she mumbled, pushing past us. Archie and I, still ignoring each other, followed closely behind, in the direction of the living room. Lo and behold, Toni was dancing with Ginger, both of them stumbling and laughing hysterically. I walked over to them and their faces lit up.

“Jughead!” They pulled me into a hug. “When did you get here?!” Ginger yelled over the music.

“Just now,” I said. “Happy birthday, Pinkie Pie,” I said to Toni, ruffling her hair. 

“Shut up!” She yelled, laughing even harder. “Thanks, bud. You want a drink?”

“Oh, about that, I brought you something…” I reached into the bag on my back and pulled out the bottle of Henny. 

“Oh my fucking God, for me?!” She screeched. “Nice one, Jones!” She high fived me, and grabbed it from me. “My faaavourite.”

“So, are we gonna hook you up with someone tonight?” Ginger whispered. 

“Uh, I’m good…” I let out a nervous laugh.

“Come on,” She groaned. “You finally popped your cherry last month. You’re practically free of worry.”

“Between you and I, it wasn’t really a conscious decision, but…” I shrugged. “Oh well.”

“Wow, you know how to talk to a lady,” she scoffed.

“Ginger-”

“I’m just fucking with you!” she cackled. “Take a shot, you little bi-”

Toni was chugging the fucking bottle. Ginger grabbed it from her and muttered something under her breath in Spanish, then handed it to me. “Let loose a bit, Jug. You have such a shitty life. Don’t ask how I know about it.”

I snatched the bottle from her with no reluctance or hesitation in the slightest and took a very large swig, gagging a bit as it went down. I didn’t care how much it burned. I drank more. Then, I handed the bottle, which was now halfway gone, back to Toni, who excitedly took it. I suddenly felt a hand on my shoulder, and I looked to find out it belonged to Archie. Lovely.

“Let’s go,” He whispered. “Oh, happy birthday, Toni,” He said to her.

After she lazily thanked him, I stashed the backpack under one of the couches, followed Archie out the back, and leaned against the glass door as he put his hands on his hips. “So, hitting on my girlfriend now, are you?”

“Don’t even go there,” I scoffed. “Did you see the disappointment in her face? I had to do something, dude.”

“Okay, look, maybe it was harsh, but I was only being honest.”

I laughed, disgusted. “That’s not the point! You’re supposed to make her feel good about herself. Because, she does look good, sorry for thinking that. I mean, do you know the first thing about treating a fucking girl the right way?”

“Why has she been with me for almost three years, then?” Archie spat. “And, besides, what do you know? You drunkenly lost your virginity to a popular cheerleader, for what? Probably just to fit in.”

My stomach churned in disbelief. “Fuck you, Archie.” I looked him dead in the eye. “Why have you been putting up with Betty for all this time, if you’re so sick of her, huh? Because you want to hide the fact that you’re a fucking asshole? And, if you’re with her, you’ll seem sweeter than you really are?” I gritted my teeth together and stepped closer to him so I was right in his face. “I don’t care what you think. Dare I say it, Archie, as much as I love you, and as glad as I am that you’ve had my back these past couple months, I will have zero pity for you on the day that she wakes the fuck up and realizes she can do better.”

He looked absolutely startled at my words. With that, I gave him one last hard stare, and left him on the patio. I stormed into the living room and went straight to the couch to retrieve Archie’s backpack, which I hid earlier. I grabbed it from underneath, pulled out the full bottle of liquor, and cracked it open. In the middle of me chugging it, I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I stopped. With my mouth full, I looked down to see Betty, and almost spat it out. I quickly swallowed the rest of it, cringing as it went down. “B-Betty,” I coughed. “Hey. What’s up?” 

“What the hell is going on with you?” she snapped, grabbing the bottle out of my hand. “Seriously, Jughead.”

“It’s Archie,” I choked out through my coughs. “Fucking asshole, is what he is.” 

“Jug-“ 

I looked at her intensely. “Don’t defend him, okay?”

“I-I’m not…” 

“I’m sorry, Betty. Just… you deserve better.” I whispered the last part so quietly that it would really be a miracle if she understood, and I walked away. 

“What? Jughead, wait!” I walked faster and faster towards the bathroom, then once I got there, locked myself inside and jammed my fingers down my throat. Thankfully I puked out pretty much all the alcohol from my system. I flushed it away and washed up as much as possible. What had gotten into me? Maybe I really was turning out like my father. Anything goes wrong, I drink. I knew I had to stop. 

I made my way to the kitchen area and got myself some water. When I turned around, I saw Tina talking to Archie. I rolled my eyes, and drank my water, trying to get more sober. Archie laughed at something Tina said and raised his eyebrows. His expression was a mixture of contemplation and excitement. I sighed and vacated to a different room, not wanting anything to do with the night anymore. I wanted to leave, but a voice in the back of my head kept telling me that I had to stay. I didn’t know why at the time, but I would come to find out sooner than later.

 

 

 

An hour or so had passed since I saw Archie and Tina talking. Nothing had happened since then. I had the odd drunk person come up to me and ask if I was alright, which I gave the same response to all; I was waiting to meet a friend. I mean, I wasn’t lying. I was waiting for Archie to smarten the fuck up and come around to me so we could go home. But, that was just the extended truth. Eventually, Reggie came up to me, and I mentally rolled my eyes. He was wasted, stumbling and tripping as he got closer. “Jughead Jones!” He yelled. “How’s it going, buddy?”

“Fine…” I shrugged. 

“Hey, I was wonderin’...” He said, his tone lazier than anyone else’s I’d heard, “Have you seen Archie? He went into one of the bedrooms, with a blonde girl, someone said, but…”

“Well, was it Betty?” I asked, suddenly sitting up.

“I dunno. She had her hair down, if that helps. That’s what I heard. He looked annoyed, she was giggling her ass off.”

“... Shit,” I groaned, getting up. “Where are the bedrooms?”

“Right upstairs, thattaway,” He said, pointing to the stairwell. “Bring Archie if you find him, please.”

“Whatever,” I murmured, running up the stairs. Various people were standing in the corridor, talking, making out, etcetera. There were three doors on either side of the corridor, but I didn’t want to just burst in, so I stood there for a moment, waiting. Suddenly, I thought I heard Archie’s voice behind one of the doors; the one at the end of the hall. I took a couple steps towards the door, and heard a girls’ voice; I instantly recognized it as Betty’s. She sounded hurt and angry, and almost like she was crying. All I understood from her seemingly drunken speech was, “Go find another bitch,” and my heart broke a little. 

Archie burst out of the room, and slammed the door behind him. He had a red mark on his cheek. I looked at him in surprise. “Dude, what the hell? Are you okay?”

“Just get out of my way, Jughead!” He yelled, pushing past me. “God, no one can take a fucking hint nowadays.” 

I raised my eyebrows at him as he stormed off. The very next thing that came to my mind was Betty. Maybe she was in the room with him. Oh, shit. I sprung into action and opened the bedroom door. Betty was in the bed, in her bra and underwear, sobbing into the blanket. “Shit, Betty,” I sighed, closed the door behind me, and locked it, walking over to her. “Hey, come here.”

“Jug...” She hiccuped. I pulled her into my lap, not caring how weird it was that she was piss drunk and in her underwear. 

“Let it out, Betts. It’s okay.” 

“He’s s-such an asshole...” Betty gripped my shirt. “He doesn’t even want me anymore. It’s like we’re not even...” She let out another sob. “We’re n-not even together. We’re just best friends.” 

I bit my lip and swallowed hard as I rubbed her back. It absolutely broke my heart to see her like this. 

“H-he just treats me like a fucking sister now. For fucks sake. He never wants to do anything with me. Am I really that revolting?” She continued bawling, her tears soaking the front of my shirt. 

“God, Betty, no!” I held her even tighter. 

“Why do I even want him? He’s not even good in bed.” 

I glanced at the ceiling, ignoring what she said. “Archie takes you for granted, do you understand? He’s the luckiest man in the world, and doesn’t even know it. You’re so smart, and ambitious, and beautiful, and...” 

Betty looked up at me. She looked completely torn when she first did so - her face was covered in makeup, her eyes were red, and she just looked exhausted. But as I was speaking to her, she began to calm down. She was still crying a little bit, but she was listening to me very closely. 

“Why are you always so nice to me?” Betty whimpered. 

“How could I be mean to you?” I looked down at her. 

“Juggie...” She gulped, and leaned in to me, damn near kissing me.

“Um, what are you doing?” I froze as she sat up and climbed on top of me. “You’re with Archie.”

“Archie is fucked,” Betty slurred as she laughed, pressing her near-naked self against me. “Maybe I should have dated you instead.” 

“Betty!” I fought hard to keep my mind off of what she was doing. “Jesus Christ, you’re wasted.” I slowly guided her off of me. I knew she had been drinking, but not this much. “I have to take you home, Betty. Now.” 

“No, Juggie,” she giggled as I passed over her shirt and skirt. “You make me feel loved.” 

“No, I can’t do that to you, in this state, and I can’t do that to Arch-“

“Fuck Archie!” Betty cried, pulling her shirt on. “Archie can...” She paused and shut her mouth tightly. I immediately grabbed the trash bin next to the bed and held it under her face, rubbing her back as she began gagging. 

“Don’t hold back, sweetheart,” I whispered, gathering her hair behind her head. After a couple of coughs, she emptied all the contents of her stomach into the trash bin. “Let it out.” I sighed, shaking my head. I thought she actually wanted me. Turned out she was just plastered and confused. 

Once she was done, I put the bin on the bedside table and passed her the box of tissues sitting on top of it. She gratefully took it and used quite a few. In the meantime, I checked the time on my phone. It was 10:45, meaning I should take her home right now. 

“Okay, do you know where your phone is?” I asked. 

“In my purse... By the door...” I glanced at the doorway and nodded when I saw she was right. 

“Good. Let me take your shoes off.” I knelt down in front of her. 

“Why...?” She sniffled. 

“You’re wearing heels. The busses aren’t running anymore. You can’t walk home, drunk, and in heels.” I slipped them off her feet. 

She giggled. “So caring. But wait... Can you help me, um...” She looked down at her bare legs. 

“Oh! Shit, yeah, of course.” I put her feet into the skirt and pulled it up her legs, trying not to think sexually at all. 

“Jones. You gentleman.” 

I frowned and ignored her. “Okay, give me your right hand.” 

Betty held up her left hand. 

“Your right hand, Betts.” I chuckled. 

“Fuck.” She laughed, giving me the right hand. I hoisted her up, wrapped her arm around my shoulder, grabbed her heels and purse with my other hand, and left the room. Everybody in the hallway stared as I practically dragged Betty down the hall. 

“Hey, Jughead, are you leaving?” Ginger asked. 

“Uh, yeah. Gotta take her home.” I let out an empty laugh and gestured to Betty, who was dangling off my shoulder. 

“Oh, boy. Has she been crying?” She whispered. 

“Yes. Long story. Goodnight, Ginger.” I nodded politely, and kept making my way to the door. 

“Jughead! You’re out?” Toni stumbled up to me, her face covered in red lipstick. 

“Yeah, Betty’s...” I looked at her closely. Wait. Red lipstick. “Toni, did you...” 

“Did I what?” She blushed. 

“Call me in the morning, you tramp.” I laughed, and left the house all together, not saying another word to anyone. Once we were at the end of the driveway and away from everyone, I quickly put Betty’s shoes in her purse, and put the purse down. “Okay, Betts. I need you to trust me, okay?” 

“I do.” She leaned on my shoulder. 

“Good. Because I’m carrying you home,” I told her. 

I put her purse around my neck, and before she could ask any questions, I reached under her legs and scooped her up bridal style. She squealed a little bit in surprise, then sighed in relief when she realized she wouldn’t be walking. I was a quarter of the way down the hill when she finally got fully comfortable. She nuzzled her face into my shirt and clasped her hands behind my neck. 

“Are you comfy?” I asked. 

She responded with a loud sigh, muffled by my shirt. I smiled down at me. “It’s okay. You’ll be in bed soon.” 

After ten minutes of trekking down the small hill and up Betty’s street, I found myself at her front door at nearly 11. I struggled to twist the doorknob, since my arms were full, but I surprisingly got it open. At the time, Riverdale was a very safe town, so it was normal to leave doors unlocked before midnight. 

“Betty?” 

I shut the door behind me and flinched when I saw Alice come into the living room. She looked surprised when she saw me. 

“Jughead,” she said, a bit surprised. “What-“

“Look, she was really, really drunk, so I brought her here. I didn’t know what else to do,” I whispered. 

“Where’s Archie?” Alice furrowed her eyebrows. 

I looked down at Betty sadly, then back at Alice. “It’s a long story.” 

She moaned. “Not again...” 

I opened my mouth to say something, then decided not to waste any more time. “Here, let me just take her to her room.” I got a stronger grip on her and walked over to the stairwell. Once I got there, I gently placed her on her bed and covered her with her duvet. She stirred a little, then looked up at me with lazy eyes. “Where am I?”

“Your room. You’re home. Don’t worry,” I whispered, pulling the covers over her more. 

“Thank you, Juggie...” Betty slurred, flashing me an exhausted, yet beautiful smile. 

“Go to sleep, okay? You’re safe.” I kissed her forehead quickly, and left her room. Once I reached the bottom of the stairs, Alice was finishing pouring a second cup of tea. Shit. I wasn’t planning on staying. 

“Jughead.” She put the teapot on the heating pad on the table. “Want to have a seat?” 

“Okay,” I said slowly, joining her at the table. 

“Sorry, I know you’re probably tired, but, I just haven’t properly seen you since you were, what, seven?” She held the cup in her hands and studied me. “Why was Betty’s makeup all over her face?” 

I sighed. “I don’t know. They got in a fight, I’m guessing.” 

“I won’t tell Betty. My word,” She said. “I just want to know.” 

I took a sip of tea. “I was looking for Archie, because one of the guys at the party was looking for him. Plus, I hadn’t seen him in a while. Then, he just burst out of a bedroom, and he looked angry. I went inside, there was Betty. Crying. Drunk. I don’t know what they fought about.” 

“It isn’t really my place to say, but, it’s been like that for a while,” Alice frowned. “He’s always rushing out of here, seeming frustrated.” 

“Really?” I sat up. 

“Mhm. The last few months, I’d say, have been the worst. Betty is all smiles, but I know she’s hiding something behind it. They’re not as happy as they were at first,” Alice explained. 

“You know, they do test each other a lot,” I admitted. 

“Not good. Hal and I used to do that,” She told me, shaking her head as she reminisced. 

“What made you stop?” I asked. 

“I kicked him out, Jughead. Betty didn’t tell you?” Alice furrowed her eyebrows. 

“What?! No! She didn’t tell me...” I ran a hand through my hair, bewildered. “Does Archie know?” 

“I don’t know, I would assume so...” She looked confused. 

“Alice, I’m sorry, I had no idea,” I said, great sympathy in my voice. 

She chuckled. “No need. I’m glad he’s gone, honestly. He was having an affair with Penelope Blossom, and using our savings to buy her gifts. You know her taste. Fancy, expensive.” She took a large sip of tea. “They’re no longer together, but do you think I let him back in?”

“Wait- what?!” I was mortified. I stared at her in disbelief. Cheryl’s mother. “That’s insane.”

“Betty didn’t take it well,” She said, a bit of hurt in her voice. “The night I told her, she broke down. It was really hard for her to adjust in the first week. She just loves her father no matter what, you know? It pains me to say, but they were a lot closer than her and I as she grew up.” 

I stayed quiet, biting my lip. All of this information was so foreign to me. I had no clue Betty and her family were going through all of this. I wasn’t even sure if Archie knew, but I wasn’t even gonna talk to him about it. Obviously there’s a reason she hadn’t, if she hadn’t. 

“Hey, Jughead... Why don’t you stay the night?” Alice whispered. “You can sleep in Polly’s bedroom, or on the couch, whatever you prefer.” 

I thought about it for a moment. Archie was being a little bit testy, and I hated being around him when he was testy. “You know what? Sure. I’ll crash upstairs.” 

“Good.” She smiled genuinely at me. “I like you, Jughead. Betty speaks very highly of you.” 

“Does she?” My attention span went from zero to one hundred. 

“Yes. I see why. She drank way too much, and you managed to haul her onto the bus-“ 

“Oh, actually...” I chuckled. “I carried her home. The buses stopped running.” 

“You’re kidding me. You carried Betty home? All the way from Thornhill?” 

“Yep.” 

“Then you carried her upstairs.” She laughed. “Archie would have sat her on the couch. Hell, he wouldn’t have even carried her more than halfway home, despite the chunks of meat on his arms.” 

I forced a small laugh. It really saddened me. It wasn’t so much how he treated her, it was mostly how he didn’t treat her. 

“Jughead, I... I don’t know how to thank you. What could have happened if you didn’t?” 

“I don’t know,” I murmured. “You don’t need to thank me, though. I like knowing she’s safe.” 

“So do I. I am her mother,” she joked. “You’re a good man.” 

“Alice...” I swallowed my pride. “Between you and I... What does Betty say? About me?” 

“She says you have Archie’s back, even though he messes up constantly, you’re funny, and, overall, you’re just a very good person,” Alice said. “She also tells me you have a keen interest in writing, is that true?” 

“Yes. I write every day.” I smiled. 

“Well, you two have that in common! Betty is always writing things down in a journal. She has been doing it since she was a little girl. Very big imagination, that one...” She sighed happily. “She also loves solving problems, and is magnificent at it. Betty can solve any riddle, I swear.” 

“Oh, I know. I remember this one time in the first grade, we were given, like, what was probably a seventh grade level riddle, and she solved it within ten minutes,” I told her, amused. 

Alice nodded. “Yep, that definitely sounds like her.” 

For what seemed like minutes, but what was really hours, over several cups of tea, Alice and I didn’t stop talking. For the majority of the time, it was my favourite conversation to have; Betty Cooper. Everything about her, from memories, to her personalities, to her talents, to what she hated about herself that we loved... everything. It truly proved that I really could go on about her for hours. Finally, at quarter to four in the morning, we made a mutual decision to go to sleep. Alice said she had to stay downstairs to prep some stuff for work tomorrow afternoon, so I made my way upstairs. I looked inside Betty’s room. There she slept, peacefully as ever. I smiled in reassurance, and went next door to Polly’s bedroom. I stripped down to my boxers and got into bed, letting out a deep sigh. Kissing Betty would have rid me with guilt for the rest of time… In more ways than others. I would have regretted betraying Archie, as shitty of a person he could be, but, all I could think about was Betty. 

The way her body felt on top of mine... I remembered suddenly, all the times I’d imagined how her body looked and felt while we were in the middle of puberty and I was developing sexual attraction to her. She had turned out to be even better than I thought. Her body, everything about it was fucking amazing. I have no idea how Archie managed to contain himself around her. Whatever, sure, he’d been with her for years, but I could never imagine myself getting sick of her, or even used to her. I sighed as I pondered, my mind constantly going back to that moment. I’d cherish that moment forever, as unrealistic as it was, even if Betty and I weren’t bound to happen at any point in time. I would look at her, and it would be all I’d be able to think about. All I could really do at that point was wait. Wait for Archie to smarten up and stop pretending everything was okay. Wait for Betty to smarten up and stop allowing herself to remain in a toxic relationship with someone she wasn’t meant to be with in the first place. She was meant to be with me all this time, and even though as far as I believed, she didn’t feel the same way, in reality, Betty and I were two halves of a kaleidoscope, both consisting of a combination of faded, saturated, similar, and mismatching colours. But, when you’d hypothetically put us together, it just… made sense. Only to a person peering in from the outside, would Betty and Archie be called a “perfect match”. Underneath it all, they walked on eggshells around each other. They fought like their lives depended on it. They disagreed. They would make up, but solely to diminish the tension between them that was visible to others. Their relationship, as a whole, was an equation without a formula. Ours would be the opposite. It was just a shame she was in too much practical denial to see it.


	7. The Fundamentals of Having Gaps in Stories

I awoke in Polly’s bedroom the following morning, slowly recalling all of the events from the previous night. I picked up my phone from the bedside table. The time was 10:30. I sighed deeply, sitting up in the bed. My arms and neck ached, and I remembered carrying Betty home. My mouth felt pasty and gross, and it reminded me that I hadn’t brushed my teeth and ridden my mouth of the alcohol. 

I got out of bed and found my clothes littered on the floor. As I pulled on my pants, I heard my cell phone vibrate. It was Ginger Lopez. 

10:32 am  
meet at pop’s for brunch? 11? 

I rolled my eyes. What could she possibly want? I shrugged and typed my response. 

10:33 am  
yeah sure

I put on my shirt and beanie that sat on the bedside table, and tiredly trudged to the door. The moment I opened it, I heard voices downstairs. Great, Betty was awake, meaning I had to face her. I tiptoed down the first set of stairs. 

“Mom, I told you. I don’t remember anyth-“ Betty paused when she heard one of the floorboards on the staircase creak at the weight I put on it, and looked at me with so much surprise and confusion, it wasn’t even funny. “J-Jughead?” 

“Uh, good morning, Betty…” I mumbled, walking down the second set of stairs. 

“What are you- How…” She looked at her mom. “Why are you not…” 

“Sweetie, this is why you should always drink responsibly,” Alice said, shaking her head. 

“What do you mean…?” 

“Archie didn’t bring you home. Jughead did.” Alice crossed her arms. “He carried you.”

“All the way from Thornhill?! Jug…” Betty looked at me, completely flabbergasted. 

“Yeah.” I nodded, looking around for my shoes. “Listen, I should really be going…”

“Wait!” Betty stood up, then cringed, I’m guessing at a headache from the hangover I’m sure she had. “Uh, mom, could you give us a minute?” 

Please say no. “Sure, honey.” Alice got up. “Have a good day, Jughead, if I don’t catch you before you leave.” 

“You too,” I waved, bending down to pull my shoes on. 

“Jughead.” Betty crossed her arms, walking over to the door. “Why did you stay the night?” 

“I took you all the way to your room, Betty. Your mom offered tea, we were talking, we got really tired, and she suggested I stay. The Southside is a bit of a ways, especially at three in the morning,” I shrugged. 

“Where did you even sleep?”

“Polly’s room.” 

She sighed. “Sorry. I’m just really confused. Jug, I don’t remember anything from last night.” 

I raised my eyebrows. “Seriously? Not a thing?” 

Betty shook her head. “No. Look, I really need you to fill me in. I hate overthinking like this. I just want to go about my week in peace.” 

I gulped. “Look, Betty, a lot happened, but…” I trailed off and avoided her eyes.

“Don’t give me that, that deafening silence,” she snapped. “Tell me what happened.” 

My stomach sank at her tone. “Look, I’ll tell you some stuff later. I just really need to go right now.” 

“Jughead, I’m begging you.” Her voice cracked, and her lip started to tremble. “This type of stuff never happens to me, I… I didn’t even drink that much…” 

“Fuck, Betty.” I pulled her in for a tight hug, and my heart throbbed in sympathy as she cried on my shoulder. “Look at me.” I held her face in my hands, and she looked down as tears poured down her face. “Betty, look at me.” She glanced up at me. 

“I’m sorry, this is so stupid, I don’t know why I’m crying-“ She tried protesting. 

I interrupted her. “Hey, hey, stop. I’m sorry. I will tell you later, okay? You just have to be patient. Do you want me to come back after I check in with my dad?” 

“Y-yes please.” She hiccuped. 

“Okay. Relax, Betty. Everything is fine.” I pulled her back in. “You’re safe. That’s all that matters, right?”

“Yeah,” she whimpered. 

“Just take a couple of deep breaths.” I kept holding her close to me as she breathed in and out. “I will be back soon, okay?” 

“Okay.” Betty sniffled, and wiped the tears from her eyes. “I actually feel a lot better. Thanks, Juggie.” 

“Don’t mention it.” I smiled down at her, and gave her shoulder one last squeeze before exiting through her front door. I frowned as I stuffed my hands in my pockets and went down her front steps. I really hated lying to her, but how else was I going to say that I had to meet Ginger? I felt like such an ass for dismissing Betty’s concerns, just because I didn’t want to stand Ginger up. It was like I was following in Archie’s footsteps, which was the last thing I ever wanted for myself.

After all, I was late, anyway. I arrived at Pop’s at about 11:10, and, on my left, spotted Ginger, two cups of coffee in front of her. She looked at me with sarcastic annoyance. I walked over to the booth and sat across from her.

“Morning, Ginger,” I said.

“Don’t ‘morning, Ginger’ me, Jones,” she retorted, a hint of playfulness in her voice. “You’re ten minutes late.”

“Yeah, I know, I’m sorry… I was helping Betty deal with something. She was pretty upset this morning.” I sighed, sipping my coffee. 

“Where was Archie?” she asked. 

“They’re kind of fighting right now,” I murmured. 

Ginger let out a laugh. “Come on.”

“Yeah, they never fight, right?” I rolled my eyes cynically. “Oh, Ginger, you’d be surprised. They fight like siblings.”

“Ew,” she whispered. “Terrible simile.”

“Well? It’s true,” I said. “Remember when I was, like, dragging Betty outside when I left? I was taking her home. Her and Archie got into a pretty bad fight. She was hysterical.”

“I saw you go into the room with her,” Ginger challenged, a sly smirk on her face. 

“Yeah, I was comforting her. So?”

“You comfort Betty a lot, don’t you?” She raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, I mean, Archie is, like, never there for her, so…” I trailed off and sipped my coffee.

“Don’t you sometimes wish you could do that, and fulfill Archie’s spot that he has so unrightfully filled since middle school?”

“Of course,” I chuckled, then my eyes widened. “Wait, what?”

“Jughead, do you think I’m an idiot?” Ginger let out an arrogant. “I know you like Betty. My lips are sealed.”

“Ginger, I…” I gulped. “You seriously can’t tell anybody. Not even Tina, Cheryl or Veronica.”

“You and I are friends,” she said. “I keep my word with my friends.”

“Fuck, I can’t believe I just told you,” I groaned.

“I always knew, Jughead, I just wanted you to admit it.”

“I’ve never told anyone,” I whispered.

“No shit?” Ginger choked on her coffee. “That must have been hard. How long have you liked her for?”

“Forever, literally,” I whined. “Since we still played in the sandbox.”

“She’s your best friend’s girlfriend,” she breathed. 

“I know! Why the fuck do you think I don’t talk to anyone about it?” I said through gritted teeth. 

“Wait, but, Archie told me you liked me, like, two weeks ago…” she paused. 

“... That wasn’t true.” I looked down at my lap. “He knew I liked a girl. Kevin thought it was you, and told him and Betty. I told them it was true so they’d shut up about it.”

“How come they thought it was me?” Ginger tilted her head. 

“The night of the pep rally, Kevin saw me staring at you and Betty while you guys were talking,” I explained. 

“... And, he thought you were looking at me. Typical.” She laughed, nodding. “But, the whole week before that party, you were showing all the signs.” 

“Didn’t you notice it was only when my friends were around?” I let out a sigh. 

”Ah. So, you were pretending to like me to cover up your feelings for Betty?” Ginger tutted at me sarcastically. 

“... I mean, if that’s how you wanna put it… I know it makes me sound douchey. I’m sorry.” I glanced to the side. 

“It’s all good.” She chuckled. “But, it all makes sense now. It didn’t really click before. Thanks for letting me know. Now, I’d be more mad if we ended up becoming boyfriend and girlfriend, and it being fake all along.” 

“Wait, so, you didn’t like me at all in the first place…?” I furrowed my eyebrows. “I thought you did, after Archie’s party.”

“Yeah, okay, you’re attractive and all, but, for the most part, we were both drunk as shit, and, at the time, I thought I did you a favour that night,” she said, taking a drink of coffee.

“Did me a favour? Ginger, I was a virgin.”

She started choking on her coffee. “Wait,” She managed to sputter out after a moment. “...What?!”

“Why is that such a surprise? This is me we’re talking about…” I laughed softly.

“I- What about Ethel Muggs? Eighth grade?” She asked frantically. 

“That was an untrue rumour that your friends started.” I raised one eyebrow. 

“Jughead, I’m so sorry, I seriously didn’t know…” she looked shockingly remorseful.

“It’s cool. What’s done is done.” I waved her off. 

“Oh my God. I’m gonna feel bad about this forever,” She moaned, putting her face in her hands. 

“Hey, stop, it’s fine, really,” I insisted, grabbing her wrists and putting them back on the table. “I can’t get my virginity back, now, can I? Honestly, I don’t really care. The time had come anyway.”

“Listen to me, Jones,” Ginger hissed. “Don’t you ever feel like you have to do things to be like Archie. Okay? Pretty much everybody on the Vixen team fucking hates Archie, except Betty, and - nevermind. I just don’t want you to acquire the fuckboy rep.”

“Fuckboy rep?” I laughed. “Archie is with Betty, though. How is he a fuckboy?”

Her face sank, and her eyes darted around as she thought of something to say.

“Ginger?”

“I just remembered…” She chugged the last of her coffee, pulled a five dollar bill out of her purse and threw it on the table. “I have a huge science test tomorrow, I should really get home and study.”

“I’m in your class, Ginger, we don’t… We don’t have one...” I stood up and stopped her. “You were the one who wanted to meet, remember?

“Pop quiz, I overheard rumours... Look, I gotta go, okay? I’ll see you tomorrow,” she panicked, threw five bucks on the table, and pushed past me. Dumbfounded, I watched her rush out of Pop’s, and I sighed. I didn’t understand why she had left at the time, but, I will tell you right now, I was definitely going to find out in the somewhat near future.

I decided to head back to Betty’s house, since I had nowhere else to go, and didn’t want to further upset her for not telling her everything right away. I nodded my thanks to Pop Tate as I sulkily walked out the door. What could Ginger possibly be hiding? I tried to put the pieces together. The last thing she mentioned was Archie’s ‘fuckboy rep’. How could Archie be one, if he was already in a relationship? Unless he was cheating… But, Archie wouldn’t do that to Betty, I thought to myself. Yeah, they’d been going through a rough patch lately, and it was mostly his fault for being a dick to her, but was he really that much of a dick? That he would cheat on Betty? I highly doubted it.

Speaking of the devil, I arrived at Betty’s house, and knocked on the door softly. She opened the door. Her hair was wet, she had baggy clothes on, and a blanket around her. She looked perfect. “You’re back so soon?”

“Uh, yeah. Dad wasn’t home,” I lied.

“Well, my mom is out in Centreville with some girlfriends, so, you can come in,” Betty grinned. “Sorry that I look like shit.”

I stepped inside, and shut the door behind me. “Did you just apologize for your appearance, when it isn’t even bad in the first place?”

“Yeah.” She shrugged. “I don’t look my best.”

“You look beautiful all the time,” I whispered, sitting on the couch. 

“Oh- umm, thank you.” Betty bit back a smile and sat down next to me. “So...”

“Until when in the night do you recall everything?” I asked.

“Well, I remember grabbing that Hennessy bottle from you,” Betty said. “I took one shot of it, then just gave it to Toni to keep. Then, I was having some drinks with Veronica. Everything after that… I can’t remember at all. She gave me some very strong drinks.”

“Really…? Nothing at all?” I raised my eyebrows.

“Nope.”

“Oh. Uh, well,” I began. “After you took that bottle from me, I hung out by myself in the sitting room for a while. Like, an hour or so. Then, Reggie came over to me, looking for Archie. He said Archie went into a bedroom with you a while back but didn’t know if he came out.”

“Wait…” Betty’s voice cracked a bit. “What…”

“I went up there and waited outside. You guys were in a pretty big fight,” I told her, my voice soft. “I could hardly understood what you said.”

“I wish I could remember what I said…” Betty grumbled.

“Well, all I can say for sure is, you slapped Archie. He stormed out,” I continued. “I came in. You were crying a lot. Saying a lot of shit about how he doesn’t treat you like he should.” I sighed deeply. “Then, I was comforting you and stuff, and you threw up in the nearest trash can. That’s when I decided to take you home. You couldn’t even walk, Betty. I carried you all the way.”

“You’re my hero,” Betty said, a glimmer of gratitude shining in her eyes as she looked at me.

“Hey, anything for you,” I smiled back, then cleared my throat, finishing the story. “I got back here. Your mom was in the living room. I basically told her you drank too much, then brought you upstairs, tucked you in, etcetera. Then, when I was about to leave, I found myself at the table for almost four hours, talking to your mom over several cups of tea.”

Betty giggled. She found that very funny. “What did you guys talk about?”

“You,” I shrugged. “Childhood memories, school memories, all your accomplishments… And, other things, of course.”

“That’s so… wow. My mom usually scares everybody off, even Archie,” Betty said. “Archie can hardly look my mom in the eye.”

“How?! She’s so sweet,” I laughed.

“Jug, to tell you the truth, she hasn’t always been all that sweet,” she mumbled. “Ever since… For the past few weeks, she has been a significantly better person.”

“Betty…” I swallowed hard. “She, uh, told me. About your dad.”

“Oh…” Betty nodded slowly. “Look, I’m sorry I haven’t said anything. It’s just… I don’t know.”

“I’m sorry, Betts, I know you guys were close,” I sympathized, putting my hand on her shoulder.

“We were inseparable, yet we’ve been separated,” Betty said very monotone-like. I really wanted to tell her about my mom, and how she took Jellybean and left my dad and I, but I decided to keep my mouth shut. This was about her, not me.

“I’m so sorry. I really am.” I put my arm around her. “Does Archie know?”

She hesitantly shook her head. “I haven’t told him. Or anyone.”

“Why not?” I tightened my grip on her. “He’s your boyfriend. He’s supposed to be there for you.”

“Yeah, he’s just been stressed about football and school, I didn’t want to burden him,” she said. “I know he hates it. My problems aren’t his.”

“Did he say that to you?” I turned to face her completely. “Jesus, Betty, he’s supposed to be helping you. Your problems ARE his.”

“Jug, you don’t understand… It’s just impossible to talk to him about anything. He’s like a brick wall. All he wants from me is-” She hesitated. “... Sex,” She said in a sheepish whisper. “Except he doesn’t even enjoy it.” 

“That’s horrible. Betty, why don’t you just tell him how you feel?” I scooted closer to her.

“Because, like I said, he’s a brick wall. So closed off to everything I say. If I tell him to listen to me, or get offended if he makes an asshole remark, he’ll just laugh…” Betty looked down. “I’ve tried breaking up with him once. He got really mad.”

“Hey, you don’t need to talk about it if you don’t want to,” I said, putting my arm around her. 

“It happened in my room, a week after Polly got taken away, when my parents weren’t home,” she continued anyway. “He threw a glass photo frame of him and I. It hit and shattered Polly’s nightlight. It was all I had left of her. All of her clothes are either donated or with her at the Sisters.” Betty’s lip trembled. “I’ll never forget it.”

“Come here.” I hugged her tightly, and, for the second time that day, her tears soaked my shirt. “I know we both love Archie despite who he is, but, Betty, you could do so much better.” 

“I don’t know what’s stopping me from ending it for good,” she sobbed. “I don’t know if it’s the fear, or the fact that we’ve been together for so long, and I pictured a future with him… I was just in way too much denial, I guess. Maybe I deserve better, but so does he.” 

“Stop it, Betty!” I held her tighter, and sighed. “Anybody would be lucky to have you,” I mumbled. 

“Obviously not…” She let out a shaky sigh. 

“Betts, come on. You’re everything every guy wants. I’d go into detail, but then I’d just sound weird to you.” I smiled lightly. 

“Juggie, go ahead, I’m not that close minded, I promise.” She let out an empty laugh. 

I took a deep breath. “Well, first of all, you’re unpretentious. People would constantly shit on you in elementary and middle school, and sometimes even now, for being so motivated to do your best and make everybody happy. For being ‘nerdy’ and getting perfect grades, and winning all these recognition awards. For being a girly girl, but also having that tomboy side to you. Knowing everything about cars, and motorbikes, and bicycles, and… Need I go on? Betty, despite all the shit people talk, you keep on being your smart, amazing, altruistic self. And, that? That’s what I, personally, admire the absolute most about you. Not only that, but, holy fuck, Betty, are you ever beautiful? That’s just a bonus to most, but it’s more than just a bonus to me. Your smile, your petite face, your eyes, and the feeling anybody and everybody gets when they look into them. That reassurance, that… safety. Never in a million years would someone feel unsafe. You wouldn’t hurt a fucking fly, Betty. Not on purpose. I know that for a fact. And that’s why I-“ 

I had never been so close to saying it in the sixteen years that I knew her, and I stopped myself at the very last moment. Immediately, I felt my face begin to turn beet red. I was terrified of looking at her. I was so engrossed in my rant that I hadn’t noticed her sit up. I could feel her staring at me with amounts of intensity that made my stomach tie into a thousand knots. I shut my eyes, swallowed, and finally looked at her. She was gazing back at me so tenderly, her green eyes gleaming. I was staring right back. 

“Jughead…” She said softly. Then suddenly, she started to lean in. 

I didn’t know what to do, but I wanted her so fucking desperately at this point, that I decided to ignore all the ifs, ands or buts in my head. I began to lean in too. Our lips were just brushing, when my cell phone vibrated in my back pocket. I looked at her very apologetically as I reached underneath me to pull it out. She looked precisely embarrassed and bit her lip nervously as I read the Caller ID. It said ‘Unknown Caller’. I glanced at her, and pressed answer. 

“H-hello?” I cleared my throat. 

“Good afternoon, is this Jughead Jones?” A seemingly young woman asked firmly on the other line. 

“Uh, yeah, who is this?”

“Hi, Jughead. This is the Toledo, Ohio Police Department. We have your father, FP Jones, in custody, for driving under influence. How fast can you get down here?”


	8. What You'd Never Think You'd Be Doing Twenty Minutes Prior to Doing It

Never had I ever been so mad at someone. Not even Archie.

People make mistakes. I’d definitely made multiple mistakes in my own past. I strongly believe all mistakes can have some form of forgiveness - that doesn’t mean it absolutely will, but it’s still possible. Although, while possible, it can be extremely difficult. Especially in a case that someone keeps making the same mistake over and over again - every day, if you will - and it all leads up to an unexpected finalization. 

“Juggie?” 

I stared at the wall, and let out a long sigh, not knowing what I should say. 

“Okay, you’re in Riverdale, he says,” the woman on the phone says. “I realize you probably can’t make it down here right now-“ 

“No. I can.” I clenched my jaw, my gut churning. “I’ll be there tomorrow morning.” 

“O-okay. We’re at-“

“16th and Henderson, I remember,” I snapped, hanging up the phone and putting my face in my hands. In that moment, I realized I couldn’t live with my lie anymore. She had to know the truth. 

“What’s going on…?” She asked shyly. 

“Betty…” I looked down at the floor. “I’m so sorry. I haven’t really been telling you the truth.” 

“What do you mean?” She questioned, confused. 

“My…” I sighed. “My mom and sister don’t live here. They live in Toledo with my grandma. They left my dad. In the summer.” 

“What?” Betty crossed her legs on the couch and faced me. “Why?” 

“They were just fed up with my dad’s shit. He’s a drunk. He’s been one since before Jellybean was born. I got home from doing some writing at Pop’s one morning, and they were gone. I didn’t even get to say goodbye.” I swallowed hard, trying to refrain from crying. 

“Jesus Christ, why did you keep this from me?” Betty exclaimed. “You really think I’d judge you?” 

“That’s not all,” I whispered. “I, uh, don’t really live with my dad. I’ve lived with Archie since September.” 

“What?!” She leaned forward. “I mean, I… I don’t know what to- Why didn’t you tell me?” 

“I was ashamed? I don’t know. That type of thing is kind of what you don’t want a lot of people to know.”

“Jug.” She breathed out a laugh. “I’m not just ‘people’. I’m Betty. We’re friends. You can tell me anything. I’m not as judgemental as my mother, you’d be surprised.”

“I’m sorry.” I bit my lip. “So, you’re not mad?”

“Of course not,” she whispered. “But, what was that phone call about?”

“Oh, right, uh… My dad was in Toledo, I guess to visit them, and he got arrested for a DUI. I don’t know if it was before or after they saw each other. They didn’t tell me.”

“A DUI?” She raised her eyebrows. 

“That’ll be his fourth,” I added. “And they want me down at the station.”

“All the way in Ohio? That’s a state away. We live, like, in the middle of nowhere, Jughead.”

“Yeah, I know. I have no way to get there.”

“We’ll take my mom’s old station wagon!” Betty blurted. “Sh-she never uses it anymore, she says it’s shit, when it’s really not, she’s just a very picky  
and high maintenance woman, so we’ll-”

“Wait, Betty, slow down.” I looked at her. “You can’t leave Riverdale with me. You have school tomorrow, and Archie, and your mom…”

“Fuck them all!” She stood up and began pacing around the room. “All my life, I’ve been told I have to try my absolute best, and I have, but not even for me! For other people, and in order for them to have the best opinion about me. Well, you know what? For once in my fucking life, I’m going to tell everybody that they can go pound a bag of sand.”

I stared up at her, and she stared back at me. A few seconds later, we both burst into a small fit of giggles. “Okay,” I said. “Then, what are you gonna do?”

She stood there thinking for a moment, then her eyes widened, and she ran towards the printer, taking out a blank piece of paper, then reaching for a pen next to it. Then, she put the paper on the kitchen table and began hastily writing on it, mumbling the words under her breath, and pausing to think every few seconds or so, then writing again. “Sincerely, Elizabeth,” She breathed out. I noticed her replacing the dot on the “i” in her name with a heart, and I grinned. Betty stood straight and held her paper in her hands, clearing her throat. 

“Dear mom,” she began. “I am not home, as you can probably tell. FP Jones has been arrested and put into Toledo, Ohio’s police custody, so I’m being the great girl you raised me to be, and I’m assisting Jughead in getting there by using your old station wagon, and providing my company to lift his low spirits. I will be back in approximately two days time. Do not feel the need to contact Sheriff Keller. I’ll be safe and sound, and texting you frequently to remind you of that. Tell Archie, on the other hand, that I’ve gone to Auntie Harriet’s lake house in Greendale, and not to bother contacting me, as I won’t respond. I hope you understand. Sincerely, Elizabeth.” A devious smirk on her face, she put the paper back on the table. “I’ll be upstairs getting a change of clothes and my mother’s spare debit card.” She spun on her heels and scurried up the stairs, leaving me flabbergasted. I didn’t know if she was spontaneous or impulsive, or both, but I loved it.

“I-I’m going next door,” I called after her, still in shock of what she had just done. 

“Okay! Meet me at the front door!” 

I chuckled, exiting the house and hurrying to Archie’s. The door was unlocked, so I let myself in, and tiptoed up the stairs. Fred was thankfully still at work, but I was still being cautious, incase Archie was still asleep. I quietly made my way to his room, and opened the door a crack. He was still fast asleep. His covers were completely over his head. I stepped into his room, and reached for some articles of clothing that were still in my designated pile of clothes in the corner. I quietly took the books out of my school bag, leaving my computer, and shoved the clothes inside. 

I heard Archie stirring, and stopped moving immediately. I glanced at the bed and furrowed my eyebrows. Archie remained completely still, but the other side of his bed was moving. I couldn’t believe my eyes. There was somebody else in his bed. I stood up, and at the same time, the top of a head of raven hair peeked out, and the long strands cascaded across the pillow. “No,” I whispered to myself in disbelief. It wasn’t just someone, it was another girl. I angrily picked up a cup on the desk that was filled with pencils, and threw it against the floor. She flinched, and sat up, covering her naked body with the quilt. It was Veronica Lodge.

“Jughead?” She asked, her face flushing. “Wh-what are you doing here?”

“I live here, Veronica. Because my dad is an alcoholic. Does that answer your question about how he’s doing?” I glared at her, and picked up my bag. “He has a girlfriend, you fucking whore.”

“I-I know,” Veronica whimpered. “Don’t tell-”

“Just shut up. Don’t you dare defend yourself,” I snapped. “Or him. Both of you fucking suck.”

Archie suddenly rolled over and sat up, too, then stared at me in disbelief. “Jug.”

“Don’t. You’re disgusting.”

“We were-”

“If you pull the ‘we were drunk’ card, I swear to God, I will tell the whole fucking school!” I spat. “I’m going home, to Sunnyside. I’ll pick up the rest of my stuff when I’m ready. Don’t show up at my door, your hands trembling, your tongue holding an empty fucking apology and bullshit excuses. Just don’t talk to me. And, don’t talk to Betty. She doesn’t deserve this, and she never did.” I gestured to them both. “Later, Archie.” I left his room and slammed the door behind me, not looking back. What seemed like millions of thoughts were running through my mind. I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t know if this was an ongoing thing, or if it was a one-time ‘don’t tell my girlfriend’ hookup, but, it didn’t matter. He betrayed Betty. 

I had no idea how, or when I was going to tell her. But, I couldn’t let her be brought down by any bad moods. I had to stay positive in the meantime, while I waited for a good time to tell her. I mean, there was really no good time, but… You know what I mean. 

I took a deep breath, calming myself down before I exited Archie’s house, and went back to Betty’s. There she sat, pretty and patient on her front steps, a fresh ponytail in her hair. I sighed and walked towards her. She saw me and smiled, stood up, and took out her ponytail. “You ready?”

“More than ever,” I nodded, getting into the driver’s seat. “Do me a favour and Google Maps how exactly to get to Toledo?”

 

 

 

After a few hours of driving, Betty’s mom had eventually called her, frantic and angry. I was listening to them bicker, and it was honestly one of the funniest things I’d ever heard. Alice was a decent woman, but, God, when she got angry, she didn’t hold back.

“Elizabeth, I refuse to let you run off with Jughead. You’re a great friend, and so is he, but you have to understand, his problems-”

“Are his own? No! He literally carried me home, mother, I could have died! I won’t let him die in a motorcycle accident on his dad’s motorcycle that he can’t even drive!”

Her sass, stubbornness and rebellion would take a while not to laugh at. 

“Sweetheart-”

“Please, try to understand!” Betty raised her voice. “My boyfriend is a stupid idiot and I need to get out of this stupid, tiny town for once in my life. I beg you, once again, try to understand.”

“Elizabeth, you did an internship in California before your sophomore year.”

“And, how often does that happen?” She huffed. 

“I-”

“I’m hanging up now. You can just kill me when I get home.”

“Honey, if it makes you feel any better, I told Archie you were with Aunt Harriet.”

She smirked. “Good. Alright, bye now.” She hung up the phone.

“She is literally going to kill you,” I breathed. “But, me first.”

“She’ll get over it eventually,” Betty shrugged.

“I don’t think so…” I raised my eyebrows. 

“Whatever you say,” she shrugged. “Where are we now?”

“Well, we entered Ohio about two hours ago, and we’re in a small town called Crestline, but Toledo is quite literally on the edge of the state, and, you’ll love this, it’s on the other side, too,” I remarked sarcastically. 

“Oh, lovely.” She joked back. “So, where are we exactly headed right this moment?”

“Gibsonburg,” I said. “It’s about an hour and a half from where we are now, and just over half an hour away from Toledo.”

“Wow, you know your shit,” said Betty, laughing to herself. 

“Of course. I passed through here numerous times as a kid to visit my grandparents.” I glanced at her quickly from my gaze out the windshield. 

“So, what are we going to Gibsonburg for?” 

“It’s a small village with cheap motels that have several vacant rooms. Perfect place to crash for the night, then just head over to the station first thing in the morning,” I explained.

“Ah.” She nodded, then gasped, turning up the radio. “Oh my God, I haven’t heard this song since I was, like, ten!”

“You know Sister Golden Hair? My mom used to sing this to my sister and I, like, all the time!” I smiled at all the fond memories.

“Archie hates old music, unless it’s ACDC or Ozzy Osbourne.” She rolled her eyes. 

“I love all old music. I’d prefer it over new anyday,” I admitted.

“Me too! Finally someone who gets it!” Betty began to sing along. “... I ain’t ready for the altar, but I do agree there’s times, when a woman sure can be a friend of mine...” She rolled down her window and turned up the volume. “Well, I keep on thinking ‘bout you, sister golden hair surprise!” She yelled, putting her sunglasses on. “And I just can’t live without you, can’t you see it in my eyes?! Come on, sing it!” She nudged me.

“No, no, no, I don’t sing.” I laughed nervously.

“And I listen to what my mother tells me to do, but what the hell did I just say to her on the phone?” She raised her eyebrows at me, and I shook my head laughing. “Five, six, five, six, seven-”

We sang together at the top of our lungs. “Will you meet me in the middle?! Will you meet me in the air?!” It sounded horrible, but it was meant to. “Will you love me just a little?! Just enough to show you care?!” We quietly sung the last part. “And I tried to fake it, I don’t mind sayin’, I just can’t make it.” We both burst into laughter after the little pause of silence before the next guitar riff. “Stop this nonsense, Elizabeth, you’re going to make me crash my car,” I said, imitating her mom, making her laugh even harder. “My brand new station wagon, Elizabeth! Can’t you see I’m trying to make Fred jealous? Him and his stupid Ford he’s had since he was in his twenties?!”

“Stop,” Betty said through tears of hysterics. “Oh my God, you dick. Don’t you ever say that with my mother within even a mile radius of you.”

“Oh, Betty, I’m not that dumb,” I laughed. 

“On a serious note, you’re like, the smartest person I know. Way smarter than you-know-who,” She shook her head. “Do you seriously write every single day? What do you write about?”

Well, most of the stuff I’d written about back then - and still to this day - was about her, so, I obviously had to shade the truth a bit. “Well, I don’t know. My day. Certain people. Things that make me happy, things that piss me off.”

“Aww, you keep a diary?” She pouted her lip out, leaning back in the seat.

“Hey, watch it.” I chuckled. “Not a diary. Legit just documents in my computer. I don’t talk to myself. I talk about myself, my life, and other people. Keeps me sane.”

“Jughead, that’s literally what a diary is,” she said, giggling. 

“Okay, fine, you win, it’s a diary, whatever.” I rolled my eyes, smiling.

“I’m just picking on you,” Betty said, poking my cheek. “Hey, never thought we’d be doing this five hours ago, huh?” 

“No, it never really crossed my mind that we’d be going to the other side of fucking Ohio together. We’re sixteen years old, Betty. What the hell are we doing?” I snickered.

“I have noooo idea,” she said, amused. 

“Oh, by the way, I recognize this highway, and there’s an IHOP about ten minutes down the road, wanna stop?”

“Oh, fuck yeah, I do,” she groaned. “I love Pop Tate, and his amazing burgers and milkshakes, but I need a change for once.”

“I cannot believe you just said that,” I scoffed. “His burgers and milkshakes never get old.”

“Okay, you’re right, but…” She shrugged. “It’s IHOP. You can’t go wrong.”

“Whatever you say.” 

She stuck her tongue out at me, and pushed her sunglasses up her nose, letting her hair carelessly fall in her face. She looked absolutely beautiful. I didn’t care if we spontaneously up and left our state for a while, and I wasn’t even acknowledging why I did so anymore. At least I was with her. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

 

 

 

“Okay. Here we are. Motel Del Bosque, Gibsonburg, Ohio,” I announced. The sun was setting, just in time for us to check in. 

“Fun,” Betty yawned, taking off her seatbelt. “How long was I out for?”

“Only about 45 minutes. Not too long.”

“Wow, I feel like I just slept for days. I feel great.” Betty smiled widely, then got out of the car and retrieved our bags from the backseat. She handed mine to me, in which I thanked her, locked the car, and we entered the motel together.

“Hello, there, lovebirds, how may I help you?” The receptionist asked.

“Oh, we’re-” I laughed nervously. “How much is a two bed?”

“Huh?” Betty asked.

“Well, I just assumed you wanted your own bed,” I mumbled.

“A two bed is $90 per night. One bed is $50,” The lady said. 

“Uh, Betty? What do you think?” I looked at her. 

“We’ll take the one bed, one night.” Betty smacked her gum, sliding $50 dollars across the counter. 

“Okay, wait-”

“Cut the shit. You paid for dinner. My treat.”

“No, I mean, are you sure you wanna sleep together? I can even sleep on the floor, it’s just shag carpet-”

“Juggie.” She sighed. “Don’t worry. I don’t snore that loud.” She took the room key from the woman, thanked her sweetly, and went down the hallway. “Last one there’s a rotten egg,” She hollered over her shoulder. 

I laughed, and followed her. “Guess I’m the rotten egg, do you really wanna share a bed now?”

“Ew, yeah, I think I’ll hijack someone else’s bed.” Betty scrunched her nose in fake disgust and unlocked the door, revealing the room. “Here we are, room number 007. Hey, double-o-seven!” She exclaimed giddily. 

The room wasn’t too bad. The walls were alike to a log cabin, and the carpet was shag. There was a bathroom on my right as I walked in, and the bed was in the middle of the main wall, a mini fridge and small TV on a desk across from it. There were two bedside tables and a small patio. It wasn’t Thornhill, but it would certainly do. 

“Well, this is cute,” Betty said in a giddy tone. “I wanna try the TV.”

“I’m gonna have a shower, I haven’t had one today.” I grabbed one of the towels. “Will you be having one?”

“Yep, so don’t use all the hot water.” She winked at me. I raised an eyebrow at her and shut the bathroom door behind me. As I showered, I reflected on my day with her. We’d had so much fun together, and we had literally done it all without expecting it, less than a half hour of planning. I adored that she wasn’t hesitant to do all of this, especially with me. I wondered if her and Archie would have even considered doing something like this. Surely they had, but, I wondered if it was hypothetical or serious. Then again, I’d hope it’d be hypothetical, because I would be surprised if they made it back from a getaway without being at each other’s throats. 

I turned off the faucet, dried myself off, put some comfortable clothes on, and brushed my teeth, then I left the bathroom. “It’s all yours,” I announced, flopping down onto the bed.

“Okay.” She stood up and opened her backpack to look for some clothes, then suddenly froze in the middle of it. “Oh…”

“What?” I asked, taking my laptop out of my bag. 

“I forgot sleeping clothes,” she mumbled, sighing. 

“Oh, you can wear something of mine, if you want,” I let slip, and then mentally slapped myself in the face. That was such a boyfriend thing.

“A-are you sure?” She looked bashful, but hopeful. 

“Of course,” I said, pulling a plaid flannel out of my bag and tossing it to her. 

“Thanks, you’re a lifesaver.” She caught it and smiled gratefully, then grabbed her stuff, going to the bathroom. 

In the meantime, I decided to explore around the room, just out of curiosity. There was nothing in the drawers of the bedside tables except a couple pine-scented car fresheners and some extra motel pamphlets. I shrugged, making my way to the mini fridge. What if there were drinks inside, I asked myself, laughing under my breath. I opened it, and, lo and behold, there was an unopened bottle of white wine. What were the odds? Maybe the last people left it, and room service forgot to check the fridge for anything left behind. I took it to the bed with me, and put it on the bedside table, waiting until Betty got out of the shower to open it.

Once I heard the tap turn off, I instantly told her, excited to crack the bottle open. “You won’t believe what I found in the fridge,” I announced.

“What?” She asked. 

“You gotta come out and see!”

After a groan and a moment of scrambling, she walked out of the bathroom, wearing nothing but my flannel, buttoned up just more than halfway. I tore my eyes away from her, trying to avoid gawking at her and embarrassing myself, and stared at the wine as I picked it up. “Voila,” I said. “Last visitors left it in the fridge.” 

“Jughead, what if they dropped a xanax in there?” She chuckled, walking towards the bed. 

“It hasn’t been opened yet,” I said, cracking it open. “... And, now it has.” 

“Well, hallelujah,” she said, snatching it from my hands and taking the first sip. “Hey, I have an idea!” She sprung up, ran to the bathroom, and came back with most likely every last towel that was in there. “Open the patio door for me?”

 

 

 

We were more than halfway done that bottle of wine within thirty minutes. That whole time, we had been sprawled out on the patio, our backs against the door, using the motel’s towels as a cushion - good thing they were black. The two of us were on the verge of being wine-drunk, laughing about numerous childhood memories together, like that one day in detention. This entire concept was straight out of a cliche, mayo romantic comedy, but I didn’t care. 

“... So, the moment Archie left for Chicago, I was bored. I was practically glued to his side 24/7. Then it came to my mind; I should see what Jughead is doing! I mean, my sister was a stupid brat when she was ten, so I didn’t really want to be around my family at that point.” Betty laughed, taking another swig and passing the bottle to me. “That night was the best. When we went to that annual Fourth of July fair in Picken’s Park.”

“We were eight years old, Betty, what the fuck were we doing?” I smiled widely, and took a sip of the wine.

“I don’t even know. All I remember is grabbing my allowance and all the one dollar bills in the couch that I could, then taking it, and taking you on a date. No Archie.” She giggled, and shook her head. “I love him, but… God, he was even more of a pain in the ass back then than what he is now.”

“That’s saying something,” I pointed out. “Do you remember how the night ended?”

“Uh…” She looked up, trying to think. “Sorry, I…”

“Sheriff Keller?”

Her face lit up, and she burst into hysterics. “Oh, yeah!” She piped. “I remember. He found us there, ‘cause his wife and him were there with Kevin. Then he asked where our parents were. We lied to him and said they let us go off on our own for a bit. We lied to authority.” She covered her face. “At eight years old!”

“I think my dad pretended to be pissed when Sheriff Keller brought me home. My mom was way more mad than he was. When we were alone later on, he didn’t seem mad or anything like that at all. I think he was… proud.”

“Why?”

“If I told you that, I’d have to kill you.” I winked, and drunk from the bottle.

“Oh, come on!” She grabbed it from me. 

“Okay, fine. I had just… never really given attention to a girl, or gotten attention from one.” I sighed. “It didn’t happen again until this year.”

“Oh.” Betty breathed out a laugh. 

“Yeah. Not to be weird or anything, but… especially from you,” I mumbled. “He always admired you.”

She scoffed humorously. “Come on.”

“No, really, Betty.” I looked at her. “He did. And, quite frankly, he still does.”

“But, why?” She looked at me with sad eyes. 

“Why wouldn’t he?” I looked down at my lap. “Why wouldn’t anybody?”

“Jughead.” She took a long sip of the wine, and cringed as she gulped it down. 

“I’m not just saying this to make you feel better.” I turned to face her. “I’m saying it because it’s the God honest truth.”

“After you left to go to the trailer, my mom was saying the same stuff…” She admired the waxing moon. “How Archie would have never carried me home if I was too drunk to walk. How he would have just said goodnight to my mother and left, not had a four hour conversation with her. Not even a five minute one. He never seems to have the time of day for her, yet he constantly wonders why she won’t give hers to him.”

“Betty…” I tried to find the words to say, but I just couldn’t.

“I think I’m just obsessively attached to the fact that we’ve been in a relationship for so long.” She fiddled with the bottle. “I’m not in love with Archie. I’m in love with the idea of Archie.”

Finally, you fucking realized it, I thought to myself.

“He and I have a great bond. But… A relationship… That’s just not who we are.” A tear rolled down her cheek. “I think we both kind of came to that conclusion several months ago, but we just never talked about it. We just… let it be.” She took a swig of wine. “All these problems…” She slurred. “They just float around in our peripheral, waiting to be acknowledged, and they never do. One day something will happen and we’re just gonna implode.’

“Betty, I don’t know what to say, except…” I sighed sharply. “One day, you’re gonna find someone else who isn’t just a hypothesis. They’re gonna be your fucking muse. They’re gonna do things for you, like…” I blinked my eyes, taking a sip of wine. “When you need a weekend out of town, they’ll take you out of town. When you’re stranded in the middle of nowhere at 3 in the morning, they’ll come pick you up, no matter how comfortable they were in bed. They fucking hate slow country-pop music, but they’ll take you to as many fucking country-pop concerts as you want.” She laughed out of her nose. “Cheesy dates are for losers, but, if you wish, they’ll take you to the Bijou, then to Pop’s for a milkshake.”

“And, who’s gonna do all this?” Betty tilted her head. 

“How would I know?” I couldn’t help but frown. “All I can really tell you, is… Not Archie.”

“I can’t believe my eighth grade self thought he was boyfriend material.” 

“Does anyone really see him as boyfriend material?” I raised an eyebrow at her. 

She let out an empty laugh. “Nope. He’s fuck-and-chuck material.”

“Betty!”

We both started laughing. “Sorry, sorry,” She put her face in her hands. 

“I think you’ve had enough,” I said, taking the bottle away.

“No!” She sat up, and almost landed on her face. “Juggie.”

“I said, no more.” 

She crawled towards me and reached beside me, and I grabbed her hands. “Nope.”

“Yes!” Unexpectedly, she climbed on top of my lap, and I froze, unable to think. I let her grab the bottle, and watched in agonizing concupiscence as she downed almost the rest of it. “Don’t be mad, I saved you some,” She said inarticulately. She licked her lips and put the bottle down, then got off of me, a wry smile on her face. Fuck. 

“Stop that,” I groaned, finished the bottle, and stood up, offering my hand.

“Stop what?” She mocked, grabbing my hand and getting up with a grunt.

“Being a coy little tease,” I said. I saw her start to go pale in the face. “What?” 

“Shit-” She clenched her teeth, covered her mouth and ran towards the wall. She clutched it as she began retching. 

“Are you okay?” I laughed out loud and quickly headed towards her to hold her hair back. 

“Ew, no, go inside, you can’t see me like this-” She coughed and gagged. 

“Betty?”

“Wh-what?”

“Shut up and let it out.” I rubbed her back as she gave up and finished puking, then hung over the edge for a minute. 

“Holy fuck, my head,” She groaned.

“Come on, I’ll help you,” I said, patting her shoulder. 

“Carry me,” she requested, her voice hoarse. 

“The bed is ten feet away,” I chuckled. 

“You carried me a half hour, you can’t carry me for twenty seconds?” Betty whined. “Pleeease.”

“Okay, okay.” I gently grabbed her waist and turned her to the side, then reached behind her legs and hoisted her up. I struggled to open the door, but eventually managed after a few tries. Once I got inside, I gently laid her on the bed, and tugged at the covers underneath her so I could put them on top of her.

“I’m so sorry.” Betty looked up at me with remorse, her eyes tired.

“Don’t worry, Betty. I’m happy to take care of you.” I smiled down at her, then leaned down and gave her a friendly kiss on the forehead. She giggled at that. I closed the patio door, shut the lamp off, and crawled into bed next to her. “I’ll have your back no matter what, okay?”

“I know,” she quietly chirped. “And I’ll have yours. No matter what.”

I stared up at the ceiling and smiled contently to myself. These were the types of moments I wouldn’t trade for anything. I shut my eyes, starting my nights rest, as I knew the following day would be a long one. “Night, Betty.”

“Goodnight, Juggie.” 

I dreamt of nothing but expensive wine and a pair of curious, innocent, emerald eyes that night.


	9. Backseat Drivers

Betty shook me awake the next morning at 9:00. “Hey, wake up, sleepyhead,” she yelled in my ear. “You’ve got a father to visit.” 

I moaned, rubbed my eyes, and sat up. “Betty…” There was a brief knock at the door. 

“That’ll be room service, my treat. You’re a growing boy, just as much as I’m a growing girl.” 

You don’t say. 

“Betty,” I said again through a tired laugh. 

“Oh, don’t worry, extra bacon was only two bucks.” She winked and answered the door, and within 30 seconds, was reeling in a cart of food. We ate in bed, not really speaking of much. We just sat in weirdly comfortable silence, apart from the sound of us chewing our food. 

“Okay,” she said, still chewing her last piece of food. “Don’t worry about getting the bags and shit together, I already did all of that so we can just go straight home once we’re done. Time for you to get out of bed, mister.” 

“Who are you, my mom?” I chuckled, taking her empty plate and putting it with mine on the cart. 

“Self-proclaimed,” she corrected me. “You know why? ‘Cause I’m up before you, with a hangover.” 

“I don’t know how you do that,” I sighed, getting out of bed and digging through my bag for some clothes. 

“Practice.” She gave me a sly smile, folding my shirt that she had left at the edge of the bed. “My mother really hates the thought of me drinking. Out of habit, my body is just trained to wake up decently early, so, even if I’m hungover, I’m still up at a decent hour.”

“Impressive. I normally just sleep like a bear in hibernation until the afternoon,” I laughed. “If you hadn’t woken me up, I totally would have been out until at least 11:30.”

“Not on my watch!” She scolded. “I’m gonna go brush my teeth. When I get back, you better be dressed.” 

“Elizabeth.” 

“Forsy-“

“Don’t!” 

She giggled, and disappeared into the bathroom. I rolled my eyes, amused, and changed my clothes. Within three minutes, she re-emerged, and let out a sharp breath of determination. “Are you ready?”

“More than ever,” I said, picking up my bag, monotone laced into my voice. 

“Great,” she chirped, picking up her own bag and opening the door. “And, we’re off.” 

I couldn’t help but smile at her enthusiasm, despite where we were going; a police station, then an almost 7 hour drive back to good ol’ Riverdale. 

“Morning, ma’am!” Betty singsonged to the reception lady. “How are you doing?” 

“I’m doing okay, Sally Sunshine,” The girl mumbled, continuing to file her nails, using her overlined lips to blow at the bangs of her very sad bleach job in an attempt to get them out of her face. She looked like an American chav. “Where you kids headed off to?” She asked, even though she clearly didn’t care. 

“To visit my dad, he’s in jail!” I gave her an excited, over exaggerated grin, then let my face go blank as I slid the room key across the counter. I studied her faded name tag for a moment. “Have a lovely day, Ophelia.”

Betty gave her a sweet smile as we strutted out of the motel.

“I-it’s Olivia!” She shouted after us, letting out a huff when Betty and I ignored her. 

We both immediately unleashed our laughter the moment we were outside. “Jesus, what a bitch.” 

“I know, right?” I rolled my eyes, unlocking the car and tossing my bag in the backseat. 

“Ugh.” Betty pouted, looking up at the dark grey clouds. “It’s gonna start raining soon.” 

“Fuck. Maybe it’s a sign. Maybe today’s gonna go shitty.”

“Don’t say that, you idiot, now it’s actually gonna be shitty.” She shook her head at me and got into the passenger side. I chuckled, got into the driver’s seat and jammed the keys into the ignition, turning the car on. Two Princes by Spin Doctors was on the radio, and my stomach churned. This song reminded me of how I loved Betty, but she loved Archie. I refrained from groaning. 

“If you wanna buy me flowers, just go ahead now," Betty sang along, a smile on her face. “Maybe today won’t be so bad!” 

I smiled at her, pulling out of the parking spot. You’re adorable, I thought to myself.

 

 

 

“Here we are,” I announced. “Toledo Police Department.” 

“Ah.” Betty stared at the building, slightly intimidated. “Um, go on, then.” 

I looked at her plaintively. “You’re not coming?” 

“What? No! This is your dad, you’d best be alone,” she insisted. “I’ll be right here when you’re done.”

“Okay.” I nodded. “Umm… There’s a 7/11 across the street, if you wanna get food for yourself or something, I don’t know how long I’ll be.”

“Juggie, I’ll be okay.” She smiled. “Now, go! You’re burning daylight!” She undid my seatbelt and prodded my shoulder. 

“Okay, okay, alright!” I laughed. She gave a curt smile as I got out of the car and made my way towards the front steps. I took a deep breath. I needed some form of reassurance, so I looked over my shoulder. Betty already had her eyes on me. ‘You got this’, she mouthed, giving me a thumbs up and an encouraging smile. I smiled back at her, then continued up the front desk. I walked up to the reception desk. 

“Uh, hi,” I said to the receptionist. “I’m here to see FP Jones. He was arrested a couple nights ago?” 

“Oh, yes, you’re Jughead?” The young woman recalled, pointing at me. “Right. I was the one you spoke to on the phone. I’ll get an officer to take you to one of the visiting rooms, and arrange for him to take your father there. You can have a seat.” 

“Thanks,” I sighed, walking over to the row of chairs against the wall and sitting down. Hardly three minutes later, after listening to some pop song playing faintly on the speakers (a little inappropriate for a police station, but this was America), an officer stepped out into the lobby. 

“Jughead Jones?” 

I stood up, and bashfully walked towards the buff man. 

“Come with me, son.” 

I stuffed my hands in my pocket and trailed behind him. He escorted me downstairs to one of the many rooms in a long hallway, and slowly twisted the doorknob. There sat my dad, his back towards us. The smell of body odour immediately hit my nose. He spun around when he saw us, and stood up. “Jug,” He croaked. 

“Dad…” I stepped towards him, and the officer grabbed my arm. 

“Do not touch the prisoner,” He said, his voice extremely firm. 

“Sorry,” I whispered. I allowed him to guide me to the other side of the table, and sat down across from my dad. He looked terrible. He had bags under his bloodshot eyes, and his hair was unruly and greasy. 

“How did you get here?” He asked, remorse in his eyes. 

“Drove,” I replied. “We spent the night in Gibsonburg, then headed-“ 

“We?” He tilted his head. “Who came with you? Archie?” 

I looked down at my lap. “No.” 

“Well, who?”

“Oh, uh, you know…” I chewed on my upper lip, and glanced up at him. “Betty Cooper.” 

He let out a chuckle. “You and Betty drove all the way to the edge of Ohio?” 

“We kinda hijacked her mom’s station wagon…” I tried to hide the smile on my face. 

“I see.” He let out a laugh. “That’s, uh… Wow.” 

“It’s not like that.” I rolled my eyes. “We’re just… friends.” 

“Alright, alright. Just surprised.” My father’s smile faded very slowly, and he stared at the table. 

“What have you done, dad?” I grumbled, giving him my full attention. 

“I don’t know, Jughead…” He shook his head. 

“Tell me what happened. Beginning to end. We don’t have much time.” 

“I came here to see your mom and sister,” He explained. “I know we haven’t seen or spoken to each other much in the past few weeks, but I’ve been trying to get sober. I really have. I haven’t picked up a beer since the day after you came to my trailer last.” 

I sat up. “Really?” 

“Really.” He sighed. “I wanted to prove to them that I could do this. Maybe even convince them to come home.” 

I nodded, listening to his every word. 

“I showed up at Grandma’s, and I called your mom’s phone. I stood in front of the car and told her to look outside. I saw the curtain move. She looked at me. I saw Jellybean appear beside her. A few moments later, she came outside. She was pretty angry. I tried telling her I was 6 weeks sober, and she didn’t believe me. She added that even if it was true, it wasn’t enough for her…” 

“Jesus…” 

“That’s not what pushed me to the edge.” He looked down. “I looked past her, and I saw Jellybean. Standing in the doorway.” 

“Wh-what about her?” My stomach churned. 

“Well, not only the fact that she’s growing like a tulip in the springtime, but… You wanna know the first thing she said?” 

“What?” 

“She asked, ‘Is Juggie with you?’”

I covered my face and pressed my fingers to my eyes, stopping the tears that threatened to spill. 

“She didn’t ask how I was, anything like that,” He said. “I don’t care so much, though. As nice as it’d be, what I really care about is how she at least didn’t turn on you.” 

I smiled to myself. 

“But, your mom, she…” He bit his bottom lip. “She just told her to go back inside, then basically just told me to fuck off back home, in way more ways than just one. After I refused, and begged her for forgiveness, and promised her I was trying to change and would continue to try, she told me to wait a minute, then she went inside for something. My heart had so much hope, you have no idea.” He shook his head. “Well, two minutes later, she came back with divorce papers.” 

“Oh…” My face fell. 

“I signed them.” He blankly stared at the wall behind me. “Then without another word, I drove away. I cried the whole way. I haven’t cried in years, Jughead.” 

“The whole way where…?” My voice cracked as I furrowed my eyebrows. 

“The liquor store.” He tightened his jawline. “Jesus Christ, I haven’t drank that much since I was a teenager. I was so drunk, I couldn’t think straight. I just sat there, in the parking lot, with a couple of mickeys and a 12 pack of beer. I made the stupid decision to start driving back to Riverdale.” 

“Dad, what the fuck?” I scoffed and shook my head. 

“I didn’t get very far. I was reported, pulled over and arrested within less than 10 minutes. I don’t remember any of this. I woke up in a cell the next morning, so fucking confused.” 

“You’re really fucking stupid, you know that?” I snapped. “Do you have any idea what I’ve been through these past couple of weeks?” 

He stared at me sadly. 

“I had to move out of Archie’s. I don’t know where the hell I’m gonna live now.” My lower lip quivered. “We got into a fight because I said he’s a fucking dick to his girlfriend and he’s mad because he knows I’m right. Why the fuck did you sign those stupid papers, dad?!” I slammed my hands on the table in the middle of the sentence. 

“Calm down, or you’re out of here!” One of the officers yelled. 

“It’s what she wanted!” My dad yelled back. “I tried to do what she fucking wanted, for once in our relationship, and it wasn’t good enough. So I did what was good enough in the end.” 

“For her? What about me?!” I cried, tears of anger running down my cheeks. “What about my sister?!” 

“Not all relationships work out, Jughead,” He said calmly. That only made me even more furious. 

“They do, sometimes, if you fucking try! You were sober for weeks, dad, not months!” I fumed. “Did you even argue about whether or not you should sign the papers?” 

“I-“ He sighed, looking down in shame. 

“You didn’t, didn’t you?” I shook my head and pressed my lips together. “Of course not. You know, you really fucked up big time. How the hell are you gonna get out of here?” 

“I’m not,” He mumbled. “I-it’s my fourth offense. Since I got it in Ohio, I’m getting between two months and a year. They’ll transfer me to the state prison.” 

“Holy fuck… Are you kidding me?” I breathed out sharply. 

“Time’s almost up,” The officer announced. 

I clenched my teeth together, and leaned on the table, glaring at him. “I’ll keep an eye on the trailer. If anyone asks, I’m still with Archie. I’ll be in school, every day, like I am now. I’ll use my college funds to take care of myself until I can find a job.” 

“Jughead-“

“I’ve practically been taking care of myself since fucking September, I think I can do it for a few more months, if it’ll save my life,” I spat.

“I’m so sorry.” He gulped. “If I could hug you right now, I would. For a really long time.” 

“As mad as I am at you right now, so would I…” I shut my eyes, hanging my head. “But, dad, I’ll-“

“Time is up, kid,” The officer said, walking over to me and grabbing my arm. 

“What- No! Wait!” I pulled away, but he stopped at nothing to continue dragging me out. I panicked, trying to fight for just a tiny bit more time. Just five seconds would be enough. “I-I’ll check up on Jelly and mom, frequently. I’ll make everything better. I promise!”

“I love you, Jughead,” My father said, his tone breaking. 

“I love you too, dad.” 

The door slammed as I was barely done my sentence, and, just like that, he was gone. I tried to hold everything inside of me as they dragged me back to the lobby, and left me there, sad, broken and vulnerable. I breathed heavily and rushed outside, wiping my eyes and making my way back to the car. There was no way in hell I’d be letting Betty see me like this. 

I got into the driver’s seat next to her, and just sat there for a moment. “Juggie?” She said softly. “What happened?” 

“Nothing,” I whispered, digging through my pockets for the car keys. 

“You’ve been crying.” 

“No I haven’t,” I unconvincingly argued, my hand trembling as I tried jamming the key into the ignition. “God fucking damnit, why isn’t the fucking thing-“

“Jughead,” She protested. “Jughead. Jughead!” 

“What?!” I boomed. When I saw the terrified look on her face, I instantly felt horrible. “Betty…” 

“That’s my house key,” She whispered meekly. “The car key is… the silver one.” 

“Oh…” I blinked, and put the keys in the cup holder. Giving up for now, I leaned my head back and closed my eyes. 

“Jug…” She placed her hand on top of mine, squeezing it hard, and I took a deep breath. 

“Listen, Betty.” I held her hand in both of mine, looking her straight in the eyes. “I’m really sorry. I should never take my anger out on you. It’s just... a lot of shit happened in there, and I-“

“I understand.” She gave me an empathetic smile. “I accept your apology.” 

“Thank you.” I sighed in relief. “Now, um… I’ll tell you everything later, but, right now, we have to make one last stop before we go home. Okay?” 

“Okay,” She shrugged. “But, wait… Can I ask where we’re going?” 

I bit my lip. “You’ll see.” 

 

 

I pulled into my grandma’s driveway for the first time in 6 years. I stared at the small house as I put the parking brake on. 

“Where are we?” 

“My grandmother’s house,” I said. 

“Ah.” 

“My mom and sister are here,” I added. 

“Oh,” She said. “Um, should I-“

“Just stay here, okay?” I placed my hand on her leg. “I’ve got this one.” 

She stared at my hand, then looked up at me. I gulped, giving it a small squeeze, then I awkwardly left the car before she questioned me. I pounded on the door, and rang the doorbell multiple times. Within 20 seconds, the door opened. I looked down, and there stood Jellybean. Her eyes filled with tears. “Juggie?” 

“Jelly…” I kneeled down, and she practically leaped into my arms. 

“Oh my God, I missed you so much,” she cried. “I thought I’d never see you again! Wh-why are you here?!” 

My grip on her tightened. “I’m so sorry, Jellybean. For everything dad ever put you and mom through. And that I didn’t come sooner.” 

“I forgive him,” She said, choking on a sob. “And you.” 

“J.B? Who’s at the door?” 

I widened my eyes and stood up, letting Jellybean go. Suddenly, my mother appeared in the doorway. She looked almost the exact same. Raven hair, a little longer than before, with some grey poking out at the top. Bright blue eyes. She did look beautiful. But it was hard to see past all the anger I felt towards her. 

“J-Jughead?” She stared at me. “What the…” 

“Go to your room, Jellybean,” I whispered to my sister. 

“But-“ 

“Please.” I raised my eyebrows at her. She reluctantly obeyed, and left. 

“Is this about your dad? Because, he already signed the papers,” She said, annoyed. 

“Nice to see you too…” I rolled my eyes. “Do you still have them?” 

“Yes, I was actually just about to contact a solicitor,” She piped. 

“Well, don’t,” I spat. “You do know he’s in jail, right?” 

“That just makes me wanna do it more.” She laughed. 

“Mom, he’s in jail because of this.” I took a step towards her. “Because this caused him to relapse and he drove under influence.” 

She scoffed. “You think that’s my fault?” 

“Well, it sure didn’t help!” I yelled. 

I watched in disgust as she wouldn’t budge. “Jughead, it’s over.” 

“You’re my mom, for fucks sake, act like it for once since I was a kid!” I screamed, tears brimming my eyes. “Do not call anyone. Do not contact a single fucking person who can continue to grease this little plan of yours along, do you hear me? Am I clear?!” 

She stopped, and sighed. “Crystal.”

“He was trying to get better for you. It wasn’t long, but he was trying, mom!” I told her, in the same tone. “You messed that all up. Because that wasn’t good enough. Well, then how the hell did you manage to marry him when you left high school, then put up with him for another 18 years of your life?! While he wasn’t even trying?” 

She gazed at the floor in silence. 

“It might be a bit late, but he can’t go back in time. He’s trying now,” I said, a little quieter. “So I suggest you go to the police station and see your husband, and work your shit out, so he has another reason to look forward to getting out, because right now, other than me, he doesn’t have that.” 

“Okay,” She said, her voice light as a feather. 

“Thank you.” I let out a deep breath. “I have to go.”

My mom furrowed her eyebrows, and peeked outside of the doorway. “Who is that hitchcock riding shotgun?” 

I looked behind me, still on edge. “That’s Betty Cooper.” 

“My word, I haven’t seen Betty since she played in a sandbox. She sure turned out pretty.” She chuckled. “She your girlfriend?” 

“She’s dating Archie, remember?” 

She made a face. “Why?”

I wanted to laugh, but I couldn’t. “I… I honestly don’t know.” 

“She doesn’t know what she’s missing.” My mom leaned against the doorway, peering at her some more. 

“What do you mean?” I asked. 

“You’re a lover, Jug, not a fighter,” She said, still staring into the windshield. “But, my favourite thing about you, is that you fight for what you love.” A sweet smile broke across her face as she waved. I looked over my shoulder to see Betty waving back as well. My heart warmed at it. 

“I best be off.” I put my hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry for yelling at you, but I had to get my point across somehow, didn’t I?” 

She waved me off. “I needed it.” 

Jellybean appeared around the corner. “Is everything okay?” 

“Everything is great. I gotta go, though, Jells. Do I get a hug?” I got on my knees again. She ran towards me and gave me a bone-crushing hug. I kissed her on the side of the head, and opened my eyes, looking at Betty. She was blushing and grinning widely at us. 

“What are you doing, boy? Get her out of that car,” my mom said. 

I beckoned Betty over. She excitedly got out of the car and pranced towards us. “Hi!”

“Hey, there, gorgeous,” My mom said, holding out her hands. “I don’t know if you remember me, I’m Gladys.”

“Of course I do!” Betty chirped. “You always made the best lemonade.” 

“Are you Jughead’s girlfriend?” Jellybean asked. 

“Jellybean!” My mom scolded her. 

“No, no, it’s fine.” Betty laughed nervously, exchanging a glance with me. 

“She’s not,” I said to Jellybean. “Betty is a really great friend of mine who was nice enough to lend her mom’s car, and come here with me, to keep me company.”

“Oh,” she said, holding her hand out. “Hi, Betty. I’m Jellybean.” 

“Oh my gosh… You’re so big now! Last time I saw you, you were so little…” 

“You’re so pretty,” Jellybean said sheepishly, clearly intimidated. “Jughead, you should date her. She’s really pretty.” 

“Okay, J.B, that’s enough,” My mom said, a little firmer this time. “You guys should get on the road, you’ve got a long drive. I’ll see you soon, Jughead.” 

I gave her a short, slightly awkward hug, gave Jellybean one last hug, then Betty and I were on our way out. I had a lingering grin on my face. I was grateful that I had left my family on good terms… Well, half of the female side, anyways. My parents were kind of a complicated situation. 

“Your sister’s so sweet.” Betty gushed, letting her hair down. 

“Isn’t she?” I kept smiling. 

“She thought we were dating.” She laughed. 

“So did my mom.” 

“What?!” Betty kept laughing. “Oh, my God.” 

“Can you blame them?” I blurted. “I-I mean, a young boy and a young girl with a few bags in the back of an empty car. People assume things.” 

“Fair enough.” She shrugged. 

“Do you want me to tell you about my dad now, since we’re kinda in a better mood?” 

“Of course.” In less than a second, her attention was on me. 

I told her the whole story, from beginning to end. She listened, nodded, commented, questioned, reacted… Throughout the whole thing, she didn’t budge from her focus. 

“Wow,” She said when I finished. “Juggie, your dad does care.” 

“I know, I know he does,” I sighed. 

“My grandpa was an alcoholic too, you know. My grandma too,” She said. “My mom was so frustrated when she was a teenager. But, she knew that deep down, they loved her. And, she was right. My grandpa didn’t make it, he passed years before Polly was born, but my grandma used that as a reason to get better herself. My mom forgave her for all the shit she put her through. Now? She’ll be 23 years sober in 3 months, and she’s been re-married for over 15.” 

“Wow,” I exclaimed. 

“Your dad loves your family, Jughead. He loves you. He’s definitely learned from this. He just needs all the support he can get.” 

I shot a soft glance at her and smiled. “You’re the best listener, you know that?” 

She giggled. “Am I?” 

“The best one I know, I swear.” 

“Shucks.” 

 

 

 

The sun was just setting as we passed through Youngstown, Ohio. The car ride hadn’t really been eventful, except that at one point, something was wrong with the heating in the car, and it wouldn’t turn down, so we had to have the windows down. I could then see why Alice gave up this car. We had a laugh about it, though, and that’s all that mattered. Betty made a sarcastic comment about how the car couldn’t handle our hotness, and we laughed so hard that we had to pull over. I’ll probably never forget that. 

“Do you hear that?” Betty suddenly said, perking up at the loud music we were forced to hear, as the windows down and we were stuck in 5:00 rush hour. 

“Oh, yeah. Every monday night, that country hall on our left has this thing called a millennial dance night, where they pretty much only play music from between the 60s and around 2005. It’s mainly for seniors, but lots of young people go. It’s a huge Youngstown thing. Jellybean and I used to go watch sometimes if we passed through on a monday.” 

Betty was quiet for a moment. “Jones? You thinking what I’m thinking?” 

“No, no, no,” I laughed. “I don’t dance.” 

“Well, it doesn’t hurt to pop in, does it?” She batted her eyelashes. 

“Don’t look at me like that!” I kept my eyes forward. 

“Party pooper.” She pouted. 

I thought for a moment. “You know what? What the hell? It’s our last night before we go back to school.”

“That’s the spirit!” She clapped her hands together as I turned left into the parking lot. I rolled the windows up, took the keys out, and undid my seatbelt. Betty and I laughed out loud, and all but ran to the doorway - almost forgetting to lock the car. 

We entered the building; the lights were off, a disco ball and rainbow disco lights illuminated the darkness, and Footloose by Kenny Loggins was blasting through the speakers. Betty gasped happily and grabbed my wrist, dragging me into the crowd. “Don’t you dare be shy, Jones! Dance with me!” She shouted, giddy with excitement. I laughed and danced with her. We looked like huge idiots compared to the rest of the crowd, but I didn’t care. Not one bit. 

When the song was over, she ran a hand through her hair, and leaned towards my ear. “I knew you had it in you.” She winked at me, and I smirked back at her. One Way or Another came on next. We sang that one pretty loudly. 

For the near hour that we danced, I didn’t think about anything else other than us. There was nothing else in my mind apart from Betty and I, and how much fun we were having. However, halfway through Loveshack, we’d come to a mutual agreement to sit the next song out, as we were both sweating from head to toe, and could hardly breathe properly. 

“That,” Betty panted, “Was the most fun I’ve had in ages.” 

“Me too.” I took my hat off, and stuffed it in the inside pocket of my jacket. 

“Hey, thanks for letting me come with you.” She smiled widely, nudging my arm. “I really needed this. And, honestly? I underestimated your navigation skills.” 

I laughed. “And, I underestimated your spontaneity. Most of the time, I had forgotten the main reason we did this in the first place. We were hours away from your angry mother, who we damn well knew was angry, yet we were singing Sister Golden Hair at the top of our lungs on the highway.”

Betty rested her chin on her hand, and chuckled. “We were half an hour away from your father, who was in police custody, and we were getting wine drunk on the patio of a cheap motel.”

“Don’t forget that you threw up,” I pointed out. I leaned closer towards her and added, “In the bushes.”

“Ugh, stop!” She grimaced. We both burst out laughing. “But, seriously, Jughead?” She looked at me, and scooted a bit closer. “Thank you.” 

“Hey, if you ever need to get away from home, just give me a call,” I offered. “I mean… I kind of live alone now.” I shrugged. 

“I still don’t totally get why you’re moving out of Archie’s,” She sighed. 

“Ugh.” I cringed. 

“What?” She looked at me. 

“I had forgotten about him for a good half hour.” 

Betty rolled her eyes, and shook her head, laughing. Suddenly, we heard some microphone feedback, and looked up to the front.

“Hello, Youngstown Country Hall!” The man at the front said. “How are you guys tonight?” 

Betty smiled and clapped her hands. 

“Now, we’ve been pretty fast paced this evening, so, how would you like it if we slowed it down a bit?” 

The crowd cheered. We looked at each other. She gave me a very endearing look. 

“Alright, rascals, I’ll let you guys calm down, find yourself in heaven,” the man said, laughing at his own joke as he turned on Heaven by Bryan Adams. 

“He’s got terrible humour, but a great taste in music,” Betty giggled. 

“You got that right.” I stood up, and held out my hand. “May I have this dance?”

Betty raised her eyebrows. “What if I haven’t regained all my energy yet?” 

“Then, who’s the party pooper now?” I asked, extending my arm out further. She smiled coyly and took my hand, standing up. We went to the middle of the dance floor, and I put my hands on her hips, in which she put her arms around my neck. 

“We’re like a middle school couple…” Betty snickered. 

“Stop!” I laughed. “Gross.” 

“This is definitely my favourite by Adams, though, so, thanks for sharing this moment with me,” She gushed, her tone oozing sarcasm. 

“Always my pleasure.” I flashed her a cynical smirk, and she giggled. 

“I will definitely never forget this trip, let alone this night,” she sighed. “I’ll miss it.”

“I’ll bring you back one day.” I mindlessly played with a strand of her hair behind her back. 

“Juggie, you’re the best. I love that you let me come.” 

“You said that.” I raised an eyebrow. 

“And I mean it!” She patted my shoulder. “Riverdale is… complicated. Sometimes I feel like I was raised in the wrong town.” She glimpsed at the floor. 

“Well,” I started, “If you were raised somewhere different, we probably would have never met. And, we wouldn’t be here now.” 

She shrugged, looking up at the ceiling, jokingly contemplating what I said. “Fair enough, I guess. You’re alright.” 

I tutted at her, and we both shared a chuckle. “I know what you mean, though. Riverdale is great, but so fucked up in so many ways.” 

“It’s too much sometimes, even for me,” She admitted. “And, I can take quite a bit. Everybody knows that.” 

I nodded. “That’s a lot of pressure.” 

“Yeah. I just needed a break from my mom, Archie, River Vixens, school…” She trailed off. “You’re, like, the only one I never get tired of. Isn’t that crazy?”

I couldn’t help but look down at the ground. “I never get tired of you, either. I never will.” 

“Jug…” She gazed up at me. Her face was so close to mine. I had the biggest urge to kiss her. It was the strongest urge I’d ever had. 

“Do you get tired of Archie?” I let slip. I widened my eyes. “No- that was-“ 

“Of course I do,” She laughed. “Did you get tired of Ginger? Is that why you guys aren’t talking anymore?” 

I grinned softly. “We’re still talking. We’re just friends. I never got tired of her, ‘cause I never liked her.” 

Betty was surprised. “What?” 

“I only said I did to shut Archie and Kevin up,” I explained. “Mainly Archie, though, ‘cause I lived with him.” 

“Wow…” Betty looked amused. “Why didn’t you tell me?” 

“Because… You were kind of in on it, too,” I lied. That definitely wasn’t the real reason. 

“Sorry.” She leaned her head on my shoulder. 

“Betty.” I laughed, tilting her chin up. We were staring straight into each other’s eyes, and secretly exchanging glances at each other’s lips. The part right before the chorus of the song was playing. The entirety of this moment was perfect. I decided to just go for it. I’d been waiting all of my life for this moment. She seemed to want it too. So, I did it. I leaned down, and I kissed her. 

It was the best feeling I’d ever felt (so far). Betty kissed me right back for a moment, then pulled back a little bit to look into my eyes. Then, she leaned back in to kiss me again, pulling me closer. I smiled into it, letting one of my hands get lost in her hair. She pressed right up against me and I felt myself become stiff in the legs. I really was having my first kiss with Betty Cooper in a country hall in Ohio. 

“We should go to the car,” She whispered in my ear. 

“What’s in the car?” I teased, my hand rubbing her side. 

“A backseat.” 

My eyes sparkled with lust as she groped my hand, leading me out of the hall, and towards the station wagon. “Wait, shouldn’t we park somewhere else?” She asked. “Won’t people-“

“Nobody’ll be outside for another hour or more, if that’s what you have in mind.” I winked. 

“What if it is?”

I unlocked the car, opened the back seat door, and stepped aside. “Entre vous.” 

Betty climbed into the backseat, a sly smirk on her face. I got in after her and shut the door, already feeling myself getting hard for her. I couldn’t believe this was actually happening. She snaked on top of me, and began kissing me again. She shook her jacket off and wrapped her legs around me. Moving closer, she whipped off my shirt and quickly, desperately reattached our lips. I moaned into her mouth, and my hand slid down to the hem of her pants.

“W-wait,” She breathed between kisses.

Instantly worried, I pulled away and stopped. “What?”

Betty’s eyes were wide, and her collarbones moved as she caught her air again. “U-uh, maybe we should stop…”

I furrowed my eyebrows up at her. “Are you okay?”

“Y-yeah, I just…” She glanced diagonal from me, trying to think, then, without another word, got off my lap and plummeted onto the seat with a sigh.

“Did I do something wrong, or…?” I moved a little closer to her.

“No, no, it’s not you, Jug.” Betty rested her face on her hand. “It’s me.” 

Of course it is, I thought as I put my shirt back on. “Can I ask you a really honest question?” I asked.

“Go ahead.” She sat cross legged on the carseat. 

“Where do you stand?” I asked. “I mean, with… You know who.”

Betty was quiet for a moment. “You’re seriously asking me that after we almost-“

“No, Betty, I mean, do you feel bad?” I interrupted. 

She sighed. “It’s complicated, okay? Of course I feel bad, that doesn’t necessarily mean I regret it, but, um…” She looked down at her lap. 

“What?” I moved a little closer to her. 

“I was actually planning on talking to him tonight, when we get back,” She said. “Like, seriously talking to him.” 

“And, what, continue to take shit from him?” I asked pointedly. 

“Jughead, that’s not what I mean…” She looked into my eyes. “I was gonna… maybe, uh, break up with him…” 

My heart started beating faster. “Well, then, is this a one-time thing? ‘Cause I don’t wanna be your rebound.” 

“Listen, like I said, it’s complicated.” Betty raised her voice a bit. “I don’t really have feelings for Archie anymore.” 

“You don’t really?” I hissed. “Betty, you either do, or you don’t.” 

She rolled her eyes. “... I don’t.” 

“That’s not very convincing,” I said. 

“Stop that!” She snapped. “You’re making my mind fucking spin, with all your interrogations and over analyzation of everything I say.” 

“Yeah, well you’re making my mind spin too, because I’m trying to figure out where the fuck you stand, because I-“ 

It nearly rolled off my tongue, as quick as rain falling down a gutter. I was almost as shocked as Betty was. She stared at me, speechless, her mouth hanging open slightly, as she likely knew what I was going to say. I stared back at her, my breathing picking up a little. We stayed like that for a minute. I don’t know why, but my next instinct was to unlock the door, open it, and go outside. 

“Y-you what? Where are you going?” Her voice broke. 

I froze. “To the store across the street, to go use the bathroom, then, when I get back, we’re going home.”

“Fuck, wait-“

Ignoring her, unable to hear her speak for now, I shut the door behind me and stormed across the street, nearly getting hit by a car in the process. I shook it off and angrily went to the men’s washroom, locked the door behind me and gripped the sink. I was so frustrated with myself, I wanted nothing more than to disappear. A wave of impulsivity washing over me, I kicked the wall, and immediately yelled out in pain. My foot went straight through it. I breathed heavily, carefully taking it out of the wall. I felt my toes throbbing. I sniffed, let out a breath and left the bathroom. 

“The hell happened in there?” The man behind the counter asked. 

“Uh…” I looked over my shoulder. “S-sorry, sir. I kind of put a hole in your wall.” 

He raised his eyebrows. “Why?” 

“My best friend doesn’t love me back,” I mumbled. 

“Pardon?” 

I pulled out my wallet from my pocket, and fished out a few $20 bills. I threw them on the counter. “That should cover it,” I grumbled, leaving the store. As mad as I still was, I actually felt a little better. I carefully crossed the street this time, slightly limping due to the pain in my foot. Then, I got into the car. I glanced at Betty. She was leaning against the door, and staring out the window. She didn’t even look at me. I sighed lightly. This would be a long ride home. 

 

 

Around ten, we arrived back in Riverdale. Betty had fallen asleep less than halfway there. I hadn’t heard a peep from her since we fought. I nudged her awake when we were out front of her house. “Psst. Betty.” 

“Hm…?” She stirred, slowly opening her eyes. 

“We’re out front of your house.” 

“What…?” She rubbed her forehead, and looked out the window. 

“We’re, uh, out fr-“

“Jughead.” 

“Yeah?”

“I heard you the first time.” 

“Okay.” 

Betty sat there for five more seconds, then got out of the car. I got out, too, since I had to leave it there. I pulled the trunk open and retrieved her bag, handing it to her. She mumbled a ‘thank you’, and slung it over her shoulder. “You gonna be at school tomorrow?” 

“Maybe,” I shrugged. “You?” 

“... Dunno,” she murmured. We stood there in awkward silence for a minute after I grabbed my own bag and closed the trunk. 

“See you tomorrow, then,” I said. 

“Maybe.” 

“Bye.”

“Bye.” 

We parted ways, and I sighed to myself as I walked away. I recapped all the events of the day as I trekked in the direction of the Southside. I visited my dad in jail, fought with him, then made up with him, visited my mom and sister, fought with my mom, then made up with her, spontaneously went to a low budget dance targeted towards millennials and baby boomers with Betty, kissed her to the chorus of Heaven by Bryan Adams, came damn close to hooking up with her in the backseat of her holy-roller mother’s old station wagon, nearly confessed my love for her, fought with her, and, well, I never made up with her. 

I didn’t know what to think now that she knew I loved her. There was a huge amount of weight taken off my shoulders, yet another one slumped right back on to replace it. I hoped she wouldn’t approach me at school, and that we weren’t brought into a situation where we had to be together. 

Walking into the trailer was pretty hard. It had been completely cleaned up, and even redecorated the way my mom liked it before she left. I sighed sadly as I looked around. I opened the fridge. It was filled with groceries; at least I could live off of those for a little bit, if they weren’t bound to expire soon. I went to the bedroom and took off my jeans, immediately climbing into bed. It had been a long, long day. I wasn’t even sure if I’d be going to school. I groaned and shut my eyes, a pair of green ones lingering in my mind. 

 

 

It was 3am when she called me. 

I had never picked up a phone call so fast. 

I listened for a moment before opening my mouth. All I heard were sobs. “Betty?”

“D-did I wake you?” She continued crying. 

“Well, uh, yeah, but I don’t care, are you in trouble?” I asked frantically, beginning to panic a bit. 

“I don’t know…” She hiccuped. “Juggie… I-It’s Archie… He… Can you just…” She couldn’t even speak properly. 

“I’ll be right there.”


	10. A Little Something I Learned From Daddy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> omg im so sorry i havent updated in WEEKS tyra its been really rough,, from trying to get my *failing* grades up before the school year ended to a bunch of shit going on in my personal life..... however thats a long story lmao anyways so in 2 days (july 4th) im leaving for costa rica for 18 MF DAYS... which means i wont have my computer and wont be able to update during that time period smh. but the good news is i plan to write my damn life away during my long ass plane and car rides!! so there will hopefully be very frequent updates when i get back :) but yee anyway read the chapter n i'll talk to you all soon x

You know when people tell you that, no matter what, even if it’s 3 in the morning, they’d be willing to do anything for you? And, that most of the time it’s just an empty promise and/or a white lie? Not on my watch. Betty Cooper was awake at 3am, on a school night, seeking my company, and I was on my feet in a heartbeat. 

I rushed down the street to get to the corner as soon as I could. I saw her silhouette in the distance. She sitting on the curb, her head in her hands. I began running, and I didn’t stop until I was by her side. 

“Betty,” I panted. “Betty.” 

She looked up at me, her face and undereyes wet with grey tears, as she hadn’t taken her makeup off. Her lip quivered as she stood up and practically leaped into my arms. I held her tightly as she cried. “Shh, Betts, I’m here,” I whispered in her ear, rubbing her back. 

“Jug, Archie cheated on me,” She sobbed. “He has been for weeks. With… with V-Veronica.” 

My heart sank. I forgot. I knew the whole time, and I never told her. 

“What the fuck? Oh Betty, I’m so sorry,” I said, squeezing her tighter. 

“I’m going… to kill her.” Her breathing got quicker. I loosened my grip on her, but cupped her face in my hands. 

“Hey. Breathe. In…” She took a shaky breath in. “... Out.” I took off my jacket and draped it over her shoulders, then allowed her to lean on my chest. I rested my head on top of hers as she followed my instructions. “Wanna come home with me? Or can you not leave?” I mumbled into her ear. 

“I left a note,” she squeaked. 

I couldn’t resist chuckling. “Sorry, just… you and your notes.” I heard a tired laugh from her, and smiled to myself. 

“Thank you for answering my call, I knew Kevin would have gotten mad.” She sighed, sniffling. “I usually just dump all my problems on Archie, but…” She trembled, a small sob escaping her sleep. 

“Hey, I’m here for you no matter what,” I assured her. “I’m really sorry for all the shit I said earlier.” 

“I don’t care about that right now,” Betty said hoarsely. 

“Okay.”

We started walking down the sidewalk. I kept her close to me by having my arm around her. 

“I couldn’t sleep,” Betty began. “I called him at 1am. I knew he was awake. I saw his light on. He answered right away.” She breathed in shakily. “He sounded kind of… restless, and like he’d just run a marathon. I kept looking out the window, into his…” She paused for a moment, trying to pull herself together. “... He kept talking. I saw him pick up a bra, skirt, underwear and a small t-shirt and throw it at his bed. Then I saw her.” 

“Fuck...” I looked down at her. 

“He said he was just cleaning his room ‘cause he couldn’t sleep. He kept talking to me as he guided her to the closet and put her inside. The moment she was in there, he said to come over.” Betty scoffed in disgust. “I have never been so angry, Jughead. I ran to his house. I ran upstairs. I took one look at him, went straight to his closet, and, boom! There she was!” She laughed hysterically, tears endlessly falling down her cheeks. “I yanked her out by her hair. I punched the shit out of her. I think I broke her nose… Oh, who cares. It's probably insured for, like, $10,000. Anyway. The moment she was unable to fight back, I got back up, and I ran outside.”

“I know it’s way too soon to make light of this, but you’re a badass.” I brought her in tighter for a second. 

“A little.” She shrugged, and chuckled dryly. “I called Archie every other name for ‘player’ and/or ‘piece of shit’ in the book. I gave him every threat in the universe. After a half hour of us screaming at each other, a neighbour came outside and told us to shut up. I mouthed her off, too, but that’s another story. I’ll apologize later.” She sighed tiredly. “I said goodbye to him and I went back inside.” 

“So, this was at 1:30?”

“Yes.” 

I stopped walking, and grabbed her by her shoulders. “You waited an hour and a half to call me?! Betty!” 

“I know…” She shook her head. “I just… I couldn’t even speak. I couldn’t believe it.” 

We passed by Pop’s. “Do you want some tea or something? The kettle is broken at my house.” 

“Tea would be nice,” she whispered. We walked across the parking lot, and entered the diner. Pop Tate was mopping the floor, as there were no customers. He saw us, and looked a bit surprised. 

“Hey, kids,” He said, leaning the mop against the bar. “What can I get you?” 

“Just two cups of tea, one green, and one ginger with honey. That’d be great,” I said. 

“Sure thing, go make yourself comfortable,” Pop said, looking at Betty worriedly, but not bothering to ask any questions, as he knew better. 

“How do you know my favourite tea?” Betty asked as I walked us to a booth. 

“It’s a secret,” I said. She let out a weak laugh.

I got into the booth first, and was surprised when she got in right next to me. She immediately laid her head on my shoulder. I invited her into my arms and leaned against the window as she laid against me. 

“Archie and I broke up,” She quietly murmured to nobody in particular.

“What?”

“Archie and I broke up,” she repeated.

I sighed. “He’s going to get it tomorrow, I swear. I’m gonna kill him.”

She laughed sadly. Then, I noticed her lip trembling again, and that triggered more tears. “Ugh, shit, Betty…” I let her rest my head in the crook of my neck and kissed her temple lightly. “He’s gonna get a lot of shit from me, okay? Just like you-know-who got it from you.” 

“I hope I fucking broke her nose.” 

“So do I,” I agreed. 

“Your tea?” Pop stood in front of our table, and put the mugs down in front of us. “On the house,” he whispered. 

“Thanks, Pop, I appreciate it,” I nodded. He went back to his floor mopping, and I continued to hold Betty as the tea cooled down. “As choked as I was that you didn’t call me earlier, thanks for calling me at all. It’s always a pleasure to help you, Betts.” 

“Juggie…” She let out a sob. “What would I do without you right now?” 

“I don’t really wanna know,” I admitted. 

“Me neither.” 

We just sat there in silence, leaning on each other, for what seemed like forever, watching the steam rise from our tea cups and disappear. All that drowned out the quiet was an old, slow love song from the 80s, playing softly on the speakers. 

“If I don’t love him, why am I so sad?” She asked suddenly. 

“Pardon?” I glanced down at her. 

“We talked about this. I thought I loved him, but I just loved the idea of him.” 

“It doesn’t matter. You guys were together, and, feelings or no feelings, he fucked it up. It doesn’t matter if he felt the same way as you. What matters is that he lied, for weeks.” 

“Yeah…” She trailed off. “But in a way, I lied to him too. About how I felt.” 

“Betty, you have to admit, you both saw it coming,” I said blunty. “Non-stop fighting. Distant from one another. Throwing shade whenever you have the chance.”

“No intimacy…” She gasped. “Oh… Shit…” 

“What is it?” 

“Now I know why he didn’t wanna have sex with me,” She whimpered, another sob escaping her lips. “Because he was having sex with someone hotter…” 

“Jesus Christ!” I pulled her in closer and rubbed her back. “Why the hell would you say that?” 

“Her ass… is bigger than mine,” Her tears soaked the front of my shirt. 

“God, no, stop that, you have a great ass,” I soothed her. She laughed a little at that. “Never compare yourself to another women.” 

“I never thought I’d have to.” She sniffled, and took a sip of tea. 

“You’re coming home with me?” I asked. 

“Of course,” She sighed. “I wanna be as far away from Archie as possible right now.” 

“Understandable.” 

“Can we get these to go?” She asked. “I have a headache and just wanna sleep.” 

“Of course,” I called Pop over and asked him for some coffee cups, and after putting our drinks into them, we left. Betty shivered and pulled my jacket closed. I put my arm around her, trying to warm her (and myself) up. 

After turning right and walking down the long street that lead to the Southside, we turned up at Sunnyside Trailer Park. I opened the door of the trailer and let her in before me. “Bedroom is down the hall, first door on the left. My clothes are in the bottom dresser drawer, you can change into something of mine to sleep in. I’ll be right there, I just need to shower.”

“Okay,” she said, utter melancholy woven in her voice. She sulked to the bedroom and I frowned. I got a towel from the linen cupboard, and went to the bathroom. I was about to close the door behind me when I heard soft sobbing on the other side of the wall. I sighed as my heart wrenched. I tapped on the door lightly. 

“Y-yeah?” She called out. 

“Can I come in?” 

“Umm… Hold on.” She shuffled around for a few seconds. “Okay, uh, come in…” 

I walked in, and she was sitting at the edge of the bed, wearing nothing but my shirt. I ignored the arousal in my head and sat down next to her, tearing my eyes away from her legs. “You’re not alone. I’m here, alright?” 

“Sorry, I… I just don’t know if I can handle school tomorrow,” she groused. “And my mom, when I get home.” 

“I think it will be difficult, but you’re tough,” I said, putting my arm around her to comfort her. “We all know you’re a much better person than Archie and Veronica.” 

“That’s not what I’m worried about.” She winced. “I’m worried about everybody else. Talking, asking questions. This is a small town, and a hell of a small school. Rumors spread like wildfire.” 

“Yeah, you’re right,” I sighed. “But I’m gonna be by your side through all of it. And, if I’m not mistaken, I know Kevin has a hell of a lot of decency, so he will be too. You just can’t avoid this forever.” 

“What if I see Veronica? What if she comes up to me?” 

“You ignore her. She’s not worth your time. And neither is he.” 

“What about if someone asks?” She glanced at me, her eyes tired and face soaked with tears. 

“Ignore them too. Or, just say you don’t wanna talk about it.” 

She looked down in silence for a bit. “Okay,” She whispered. 

“You gotta get some sleep, okay?” I squeezed her shoulder, then moved over. “Lie down.” 

“I’m not tired,” She deadpanned. 

“Yes, you are. I can see it in your eyes. Sleep is what you need right now, whether you want it or not,” I insisted, pulling the covers back. “Now, lie down.” 

Betty sighed in defeat and got under the covers, and I put them over her. She lay on her side and her eyes shut almost instantly. “Jug?” She croaked. 

“Yes?”

“Can you stay with me?” 

“Of course.” 

I went to the other side of the bed and climbed under the blankets with her. She turned her body around to face me, and looked across the pillow at me with sad eyes. “I’m sorry,” She mumbled. 

“Why?” I furrowed my eyebrows. 

“About earlier. I don’t handle my feelings very well, it’s… My fault,” She said with dismay. 

“No,” I shook my head. “I shouldn’t have put you on the spot like that. It’s my fault.” 

“I was confusing you,” Betty protested. 

“It’s fine,” I said softly. “I get it.” 

We laid in melancholy reticence for a while, after a non-verbal acknowledgement that we were both tired and needed sleep. The only thing within earshot was our breathing, and the wind rustling the trees outside. I was glad she’d chosen not to ask any more questions, as we both knew she wasn’t necessarily ready to hear most of the answers. I’d never ended up getting into the shower after all that night. Instead, I did what I’d much rather be doing, and I stayed by her side. The both of us drifted off into deep, peaceful slumbers within a very short time. 

 

 

 

The next morning, as peculiar as it was, I awoke before Betty. My phone vibrated on the bedside table at 6:45, reminding me that I had to get up for school. My eyes still closed, I reached for it and turned it off. Once I wasn’t half asleep anymore, I noticed that she was resting her head on my chest, and I pondered as to how she got there. 

“Psst,” I whispered. “Wake up.”

She stirred a little bit, then opened one of her eyes. “Why…?”

“We have school,” I said, my tone hushed. 

She groaned and rolled over, burying her face in the pillow. “I don’t wanna go.”

“I know, but we missed yesterday,” I soothed, putting my hand on her arm. “Come on, get up if you want a shower.”

“I don’t want to shower, I want to sleep,” she grumbled, her voice muffled by the pillow.

I stifled a laugh. “We all want something we can’t have.”

“Jughead?”

“What?”

“Shut up.”

I lightly breathed a laugh, and stood up. “Come on, we can get breakfast on the way.”

Betty groaned blatantly, and sat up, her lips in a pout. “I brought no spare clothes…” 

“Wear something of mine,” I shrugged. 

“You’re a boy.” She raised her eyebrows. “Have you ever seen me wear boy clothes to school?” 

“Then go naked. I don’t know, suit yourself,” I chuckled, going to the kitchen to make some coffee. 

“Well, at least I wore jeans last night...” she mumbled to no one in particular. “... Or, this morning. Whatever the fuck you wanna call it.”

“Do you always sound like Karen in season 1B of Shameless in the morning?” I asked. 

“You mean after her dad called her a whore?” She called back. “Yes. The cheerfulness you normally see is only after I’ve had my coffee.” 

“Well, then I better hurry up and make this,” I smirked. Eventually, when the coffee was done being made, I poured two cups, and got the cream and sugar out. 

I heard footsteps behind me. “Does this look okay?” 

I turned to look at her. She was wearing her jeans from last night, and my dark green flannel, which was buttoned down a little and hung loosely on her petite body. I nodded rapidly. “You look great, Betts.” 

“People won’t think it’s weird, will they…?” She took a seat at the table. “That I’m glued to your side and wearing your clothes?” 

I brought all the stuff to the table. “Since when do you care about what people think?” 

“Never, but I just do right now,” She told me, pouring cream and sugar in her coffee, then stirring it. “Do you get it?” 

“Yeah.” I smiled and held up my mug to her. She responded with a grin and clinked hers with mine. When I’d taken a sip, she widened her eyes. 

“You take your coffee black?!” She asked, horrified. 

“Yeah…?” I looked at it and laughed. 

“I don’t understand, I thought we were the same, turns out we’re polar opposites,” She scolded playfully, sipping her coffee. 

“Don’t hate on my coffee, racist,” I said, kicking her under the table. She yelped and kicked me back harder, and we caught ourselves up in a fit of laughter. 

When our coffee was done, I got myself dressed and ready as well. We ended up leaving the house at around 7:45, and it didn’t take us long to get to Pop’s. 

“What are you getting? It’s my treat,” I said as we went up the steps. 

“No, mine, it’s the least I can do,” Betty said, fixing her hair, which she’d left down (for once, on a school day). “I still have my mom’s card.” She smirked deviously. 

“Yeah, well, I have my dad’s,” I retorted humorously, holding the door open for her. 

She giggled as she walked in, then it immediately faded. I looked for the reason, and saw Fred Andrews retrieving his order from Pop. He turned around and saw us, and looked a bit confused. 

“Betty, Jughead?” He said. “Just the two people I’ve been thinking about.” 

“Hi, Fred,” Betty mumbled, avoiding eye contact. 

“Everything okay, Betty? I haven’t seen you around in a while,” He said, eying her clothes. Shit. 

“Why don’t you ask your son?” She flashed a fakely sweet smile at him, and left to get into the lineup. That left the two of us together. He looked confused at what Betty said, but shrugged, deciding he should just leave her alone. 

“Jughead, you haven’t been around either,” He said slowly. “What’s going on with you two…?”

“Nothing!” I blurted a bit too quickly. “Nothing, um… Look, you just need to talk to Archie. Has he been acting weird?” 

“A little bit more of a softie than his usual smartass self,” Fred recalled. “Why?” 

“Honestly, Mr. Andrews? He did something really shitty to Betty. Something he can never fix,” I stated truthfully. “She’s really, really hurt. I’m just being a friend, I swear.” I held my hands up in surrender.

He nodded deliberately. “Okay, Jug. I’ll talk to Archie when he gets home today.” 

“Alright, uh… have a good day at work,” I proposed. 

“Yeah, you two have a good school day,” He said, leaving Pop’s. 

I joined Betty in the lineup. “He said he’s going to talk to Archie later.” 

“I hope he never forgives him,” she growled through clenched teeth. 

“Fred is very forgiving, but not that forgiving,” I reminded her. “No matter what, he stays loyal. Especially to you. You aren’t in the wrong at all.” 

“You’re right,” She sighed. 

We ordered a couple of Pop Tate’s famous breakfast sandwiches, and they thankfully came quickly because we were starting to run out of time to get to school. We ended up eating on the way there, and just throwing our garbage away as we were approaching the front stairs of the school. Betty let out a sharp breath and I elbowed her.

“I’m here, alright? I’ll come to your locker with you and walk you to class,” I reassured her. She nodded with sorrowful eyes as we entered. Thankfully, nobody stopped her on the way to her locker. I leaned against the other lockers as she twirled her combo. 

“Thank God I left at least most of my books here on the weekend,” She said casually. “Usually I have homework in every class.” 

“Your teachers and I planned the Ohio trip,” I joked. 

She rolled her eyes and smiled, getting her books out of her locker. I looked past her and saw Veronica, not too far away, talking to Cheryl and Tina. Her nose was a light shade of purple and a little misshapen, and she had a couple of bruises under her eye. The two of us made eye contact for a couple of seconds. At least she looked slightly remorseful. 

“What?” Betty asked, noticing that I was staring at something. She turned to look, and saw Veronica. Her whole demeanor changed within a second. “I wanna talk to her,” She whispered. 

“Betty, no,” I said sternly. 

“You can stand behind me and wrangle me, I don’t care, but I’m going whether you want me to or not.” She walked over there slowly and I trailed behind her from a small distance. 

“Hey, Veronica.” Betty gave her a friendly smile. “How’s your nose?” 

“Get the hell away from her,” Cheryl spat. 

“She may have to get reconstructive surgery because of you, Easter Barbie,” Tina chimed in. 

Veronica sighed. “Betty, I’m-“

“You’re sorry?” She laughed. “I don’t care if you’re sorry, so don’t tell me you are. You can have Archie. I don’t give a shit. But don’t stand there and let your bitch clique support your homewrecker ways. You’re really sorry? Prove it.” 

Her eyes pierced into Betty’s with pure anger. “Be that way, then. Why are you wearing your ex’s best friend’s shirt to school, then?” She crossed her arms across her chest. “Have a good time last night, using him as your pathetic rebound? Betty, I’m disappointed, you had the whole damn football team to choose from. Is he at least good in bed like Ginger says?” 

I shook my head and rolled my eyes. 

“Sorry, but incase you forgot, he’s my friend, too. He was comforting me about what nobody else could at the time. About something that was yours and Archie’s faults,” Betty snarled. “At three in the morning. That’s a form of loyalty, I’m guessing you didn’t know.”

“I know loyalty,” She defended poorly. 

“Oh? You mean loyalty to daddy to keep his illegal business antics a secret?” Betty raised her eyebrows at Veronica. 

“I swear to God, Cooper,” She chuckled angrily, shaking her head. 

“You swear to God what?” Betty got closer to the brunette, and stared down at her. She stared back up in silence. “Don’t you remember that Toni’s cousin works for TMZ? Imagine if they knew you were a homophobic, a liar, AND a harlot. Now, I don’t care how cringeworthy my friends and I are to you, fuck off and leave us alone, and take Archie with you, or I’ll make your potential surgery more expensive than it has to be.” 

“Ronnie!” 

Veronica looked past us and smiled up at someone else. Betty flinched when Veronica locked lips with none other than Archie Andrews. She looked like she was about to throw up. 

“How’s your nose?” He asked. 

“It’s fine,” Veronica said, smiling at him, then Betty. “Are you finished?” 

Archie finally noticed Betty and I standing there, and his smile fell. “Betty. Jughead.” 

“Archie,” Betty said shakily, storming away. I shot a glare at them and followed her closely. She didn’t go in a specific direction, she kind of just went wherever her feet took her. 

We ended up out the back door of the school. She ran a hand through her hair and it wasn’t long until she started crying. I engulfed her in a comforting hug and she hugged me back, crying on my shoulder. “It was one thing to know it,” She bawled. “It’s another to see it.” 

“I know.” I caressed her head with my hand. “I’m sorry I made you come today.”

“It’s okay,” She forgave tiredly, loosening her grip on me. “It’s really fine, but, I just really want to go home now.” 

The bell rang, indicating the first class of the day was starting. “I can take you home,” I offered. 

“It’s fine, I can walk myself. It’s best if my mom doesn’t see me with anyone, too,” Betty said, looking down at the books in her arms. “Shit, I don’t wanna go back to my locker.” 

“I can take them,” I offered immediately. 

She smiled sadly and wiped her tears away. “You’re sweet. It’s 4-37-15.” She handed them to me. “I’ll see you soon, okay?”

“Okay. Get home safe.” I smiled down at her, then opened the door to get back inside. 

“Jug?” 

I turned around. 

“Umm…” She looked down. “Thank you. Thank you so much. For everything.” 

“Betty, I’m here for you, no matter what. I’ll always have your back,” I assured her. 

She nodded, a happier look on her face. “I’ll always have yours.” 

I stared at her endearingly for a moment before we said our final goodbyes. Without further ado, I made my way to Betty’s locker, and put the combination in, exactly how I recalled it. 4… 37...

“Putting her books away so she doesn’t have to go to class? I never took you as the whipped type, Jones.” 

I glanced beside me, and Veronica was strutting down the hall. 

“What do you want?” I sighed, putting the books back. 

“From you? Absolutely nothing. I forgot a book in my locker, Ding-Dong.” 

“Why? ‘Cause you were too distracted shoving your tongue down Archie’s throat?” I asked. 

“Actually, yes!” She giggled, opening her locker. “Anyway, I actually was gonna come look for you later.”

“Why?” I asked in a monotone voice, shutting the locker and leaning against it. 

“Remember when you came into Archie’s room on Sunday? And saw me in the bed with him?” She grabbed what she needed from her locker. 

“Um, yes?” I shrugged. 

“Right. I saw you and Betty leave afterwards,” Veronica added. “You guys weren’t at school yesterday. Then you magically showed up, and she was dressed in your clothes. My favourite part? Betty’s mom told Archie that she was staying at her aunt’s.”

“Okay? And? I went back to my house,” I lied. 

“Why’d she go with you, then? She never came back home,” Veronica grilled. “You’re lucky I never told Archie this, so why don’t you just tell me?” 

I shook my head at her. “Fine. We took a roadtrip to Ohio because my dad got arrested and put in police custody there.” 

“Ohio?!” She widened her eyes. “Holy shit. Well, if there’s nothing going on between you two, why did you lie?” 

“Because people wouldn’t believe me if I said nothing was going on!” I gritted my teeth. 

“You talk a big game about me being the homewrecker, Jones, when you are just as much of one as me,” She taunted. 

“No,” I argued. 

“What was the need in lying, then, need I repeat myself?!” She groaned. “Jughead, from now on, if you and Betty don’t leave Archie and I alone, I’ll tell Archie about your guys’ little ‘Ohio or Bust’ honeymoon, and I’ll tell Betty you knew he was sleeping with me before she did.” 

I froze. “Are you blackmailing me?”

“Yes. Just a little something I learned from daddy.” She smirked shrewdly, and with that, slammed her locker, and walked away proudly. 

I was breathless as I rushed in the other direction. I couldn’t fathom how somebody could be that much of a cold-hearted bitch. I also didn’t get why the hell I let her dominate me like that. I, a degenerate who has been through hell and back, was letting a privileged teenage girl with millionaires for parents control me, like a dolled-up shitzhu in her Gucci bag. 

As I bursted out the front door, I nearly hit somebody in the face, that somebody being Toni. 

“Shit, Jones, watch it.” She looked up at me, confused. “Why are you leaving in such a rush?”

“Toni.” I furrowed my eyebrows. “Why’d you come late?”

“Is that really a surprise to you?” She raised an eyebrow. 

I shrugged. “I guess not. Anyway, I just don’t wanna be here right now. Toxic environment.” I sighed. 

“Ah.”

“By the way, you never called me the morning after the party,” I remembered. “What happened?”

“What? Oh…” She nodded. “Cheryl and I hooked up.”

“Are you serious?” I widened my eyes and smiled. “You and Cheryl? Well, congratulations?”

“It was great.” She chuckled sadly. “She’s… she’s great.”

I tilted my head. “Okay, what happened? Why do you seem all upset?”

Toni glanced at the ground. “After I saw you in the hall, I went back to her bedroom, for… y’know, round two. After that, we passed out together, still drunk as fuck. The next morning, I woke up to her yelling at me to get the hell out of her bed, throwing my clothes at me, and, the moment they were on, she wrapped a blanket around herself and literally shoved me out the door.”

“Toni, that’s terrible,” I sympathized. “I’m sorry.”

“I mean, I should have known it would take a few shots of various types of liquor for a girl like her to even be remotely attracted to me.” Toni sighed sadly. “Sorry, I-”

“Hey,” I whispered, wrapping my arms around her. “You’re a good person, Toni. Cheryl is just… stubborn. You never know, maybe she is attracted to you, but she’s just confused.”

“You think so?” 

“I would believe it,” I offered, loosening my grip on her.

“What’s with you and comforting women?” She suddenly asked with a chuckle.

“Pardon?” I squinted my eyes.

“I saw you and Betty last night. I came home late after hanging with some of my buddies from the Southside, and I was trying to sneak in through the window. I heard voices and turned around, and you could imagine my surprise when I saw you and Betty. Not to mention Betty wearing your jacket,” She challenged. “And, at almost 4am.”

I let out a sigh, then laughed. “She had a really rough night.”

“Not the first time. When you carried her out on Saturday? You sure made an exit at that party, you do realize that, right?” She raised her eyebrows.

“She was drunk as hell, she couldn’t walk, I had no choice…” I groaned. “Are people talking about it?”

“Some. Mostly the football team. Don’t be surprised if Archie brings fire sooner or later.”

“Shit, okay…” I trailed off. I wasn’t actually scared of him, since at the end of the day I had much more dirt on him than he had on me. 

“Well, I’m gonna go to English, so… Wish me luck,” She sighed. 

“Good luck.” I frowned as we parted ways. I guessed I wasn’t the only one with trouble in paradise.


End file.
